Robert Mueller obituary

Former head of the FBI who investigated Russia’s involvement in the 2016 US presidential election Robert Mueller, who has died aged 81, led an investigation, as US special counsel, into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election and alleged collusion with Donald Trump’s campaign team. Trump was enraged by the two-year-long investigation, which dominated much of his first term as president. He repeatedly dismissed it as a “witch-hunt”. Mueller’s report, published in 2019, was inconclusive. He found links between Russians and those around Trump, and that his bid for the presidency had benefited from Russian leaks that undermined the Democratic campaign. But he failed to establish collusion on the part of the Trump campaign. He cited 10 episodes in which Trump and his aides may have been obstructive to his investigation. This could have led to impeachment, but Mueller delivered what was basically a not-proven verdict. In the most controversial and damning passage of the report, he wrote: “While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” Mueller built a reputation for integrity as director of the Federal Bureau of Inv