Robert Mueller, who died on March 20, 2026, was a Marine combat veteran, longtime federal prosecutor, and Republican-appointed FBI director whose reputation for discipline and integrity made him the obvious choice to lead the Justice Department’s special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and Donald Trump’s campaign. A Bronze Star recipient for valor in Vietnam, he went on to prosecute powerful figures like Manuel Noriega and John Gotti before unanimously winning Senate confirmation as FBI director just days before 9/11. As special counsel, Mueller documented that Russia attacked the 2016 election “in sweeping and systematic fashion,” secured dozens of indictments and several convictions, and laid out multiple episodes of likely obstruction of justice by Trump while making clear his report did not exonerate the president.