President Donald Trump celebrated the death of Robert Mueller, the former FBI director and special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election, saying, “Good, I’m glad he’s dead.”

Mueller, a career prosecutor and veteran of the Vietnam War, died at 81 years old Friday, his family confirmed. While Mueller had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2021, his family did not say how he died.

Trump responded to Mueller’s death on Truth Social, saying, “Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people.”

Mueller became a political enemy of Trump’s while serving as special counsel in the Justice Department in 2017. Mueller, who was investigating any Russian interference in the 2016 election, expanded his probe to include any connection between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump.

Mueller’s investigation infuriated Trump for years. The president referred to the probe as a “witch hunt” and assailed Mueller as a “fool.”

Ultimately, Mueller’s long-anticipated report, dubbed “The Mueller Report,” found no evidence that the 2016 Trump campaign colluded with Russia – though the report also did not exonerate the president. Mueller’s findings determined that Russia did seek to help Trump win the election.

Lawmakers railed against Trump Saturday for celebrating Mueller’s death.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded by accusing the president of using Mueller’s death as a distraction.

“The cruelty is the point. Trump’s goal is to distract you from rising gas prices, his aimless war, ICE abuses, and the Epstein files. Don’t give him what he wants. And may Robert Mueller, a US Marine and lifelong public servant, rest in peace,” Schumer wrote on X.

Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman wrote on social media: “We mourn the passing of Robert Mueller, a true public servant: bronze star Vietnam veteran, federal prosecutor, FBI Director, and impartial special counsel. Yet the President of the United States disgustingly celebrates Mueller’s death simply because he exposed Trump’s efforts to steal the 2016 election.”

While Trump despised Mueller, the former FBI director had a reputation for intense professionalism by following the rules, keeping his personal life separate from his political career and keeping his political beliefs close to his chest.

Notably, Mueller’s leadership in the FBI – which occurred at the same time as the September 11, 2001, attacks – forever changed the structure and importance of the bureau when it comes to national security.

Mueller’s career in prosecution and government spanned more than three decades. While he was a registered Republican, his reputation for professionalism led him to positions in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Mueller was born on August 7, 1944, in New York City. He spent some of his childhood in Princeton, New Jersey, eventually attending and graduating from the elite Princeton University with a degree in politics. He later obtained a master’s degree in international relations from New York University in 1967 before getting a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1973.

In 1968, Mueller joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Vietnam War. Mueller rose to the rank of Captain and earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service.

Mueller eventually took a job at the Justice Department in 1976, working his way from assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California to becoming the U.S. attorney for the district in 2001.

Mueller’s impressive resume eventually led former President George W. Bush to tap him to become the Director of the FBI. Mueller stepped into his new role in the FBI just seven days before the 9/11 attacks.

As FBI director, Mueller transformed the bureau, structurally and culturally, prioritizing national security threat prevention and intelligence gathering. Mueller enacted massive changes and addressed weaknesses within the bureau that were discovered through reports.

His time in the FBI was so influential that Congress granted him special permission to continue leading the bureau during the Obama administration for two years after his term expired

Mueller returned to the private sector for several years before re-joining the Justice Department in 2017 to serve as a special counsel during the first Trump administration, overseeing the probe into whether there was coordination between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.

Mueller’s investigation captured the attention of lawmakers and the public, becoming a defining plot of the first Trump administration. But throughout Trump’s attacks and efforts to have him dismissed, Mueller remained steadfast in performing his duties. He made no public statements in the two years his office conducted the investigation.

Mueller’s 448-page report did not unveil a shocking recount of actions that clearly implicated Trump – as some had anticipated. Rather, it painted an incomplete picture of the president’s actions, which left Congress open to interpretation as to whether the president obstructed justice.

The report found multiple contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia but fell short of criminal conspiracy accusations.

Ultimately several people associated with Trump’s campaign were charged, including Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Michael Cohn and George Papadoopoulos.

Mueller retired from the special counsel position a month after the release of the report. He later testified to Congress about the investigation.

In 2021, Mueller was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, his family announced last year after the House Oversight Committee indicated it would subpoena Mueller for information on the government’s investigaiton into Jeffrey Epstein.

Mueller is survived by Ann Cabell Standish, his wife of nearly 60 years, their two daughters and three grandchildren.

Robert Swan Mueller III was born August 7 1944. He died March 20, 2026, at 81 years old.