Robert Mueller

U.S. Attorney

After returning from Vietnam, Mueller went to the University of Virginia Law School. After earning his J.D., he shuttled between the public and private sectors.

He began his legal career as an associate in the San Francisco office of Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro. He worked for three years before being named assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, where he served from 1976 to 1982. He moved into the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts in 1982 and later became the U.S. attorney.Murphy, Kevin, “Bush names choice to lead FBI,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 6, 2001 

Bush and Clinton Justice Departments

In 1988, Mueller left his job as a prosecutor and spent a year as an associate at Hill & Barlow in Boston. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush appointed him assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, which handles prosecutions and oversees all 93 U.S. attorneys. Mueller worked at the DOJ until 1993, when President Clinton appointed a new set of assistant attorneys general. But Mueller would come back to the DOJ under Clinton.Biography of Robert Mueller on the FBI Web site 

From 1993 to 1995, Mueller worked for the Washington D.C. office of Hale & Dorr. Then he called up Eric Holder, who was then the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, and told Holder he wanted to be a homicide prosecutor in Holder’s office. “He made it clear he didn’t want to be a supervisor,” Holder said. “He said he liked to try cases and that he cared about the city and this would enable him to serve both interests.”Lewis, Neil A., “Man in the News: A man made for law enforcement — Robert Swan Mueller III,” The New York Times, July 6, 2001 

Eventually, Mueller became chief of that office’s homicide section, and when Holder was promoted to deputy attorney general under Janet Reno, he urged Clinton to make Mueller U.S. attorney for San Francisco. Mueller nabbed the post and served as U.S. attorney there from 1998 to 2001.

FBI Director

Shortly after President George W. Bush took office, FBI Director Louis J. Freeh resigned two years before his 10-year turn was set to end. Mueller, who had served as acting deputy attorney general from January 2001 to May 2001, was always considered the frontrunner for the top FBI post and was eventually chosen in part because he was popular with both parties (early in 2001, Bush did not have a lot of bipartisan goodwill because of the 2000 Florida recount).Milbank, Dana and Eggen, Dan, “U.S. Prosecutor named to head FBI,” The Washington Post, July 6, 2001

Mueller underwent surgery for prostate cancer shortly after being confirmed by the Senate. He took office on Sept. 4, 2001, just one week before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, and is serving a ten-year term that ends in September 2011. "After September 11th," said Justice Department spokeswoman Barbara Comstock, "Mueller had to take a hold of a broken plane, try to land it while taking incoming fire and simultaneously try to rebuild it in midair."Von Drehle, David and Schmidt, Susan, “Mueller may be stronger after tough week for FBI,” The Washington Post, June 2, 2002

Reformer

When Mueller joined the homicide division of the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. in 1995, he worked closely with detectives to drastically improve the closing rates of homicide cases.Lewis, Neil A., “Man in the News: A man made for law enforcement — Robert Swan Mueller III,” The New York Times, July 6, 2001 When President Clinton appointed Mueller as U.S. attorney in San Francisco, that office had seen prosecutions fall to a record low. Mueller forced all the supervisors to reapply for their jobs; none of them continued in their old positions.

During his time as U.S. attorney for Northern California, Mueller increased the number of women supervisors by more than 50 percent and also increased the number of underrepresented minorities in the office. He cracked down on white-collar crimes, high-tech crimes and drug rings.Eggen, Dan, “Ex-Marine is praised as tough, skilled,” The Washington Post, July 6, 2001 “It was a troubled office, and he shook things up,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said after Mueller was nominated as FBI director. “The U.S. attorney’s office had an ingrained culture that was hard to change, but he was able to change it very rapidly. I think he will be able to do the same with the FBI.”Eggen, Dan, “Ex-Marine is praised as tough, skilled,” The Washington Post, July 6, 2001

Mueller made it his goal to reform the FBI when he was appointed director. At his Senate confirmation hearing, he said he would push for improved management and technology.Slevin, Peter, “Nominee vows to restore faith in FBI,” The Washington Post, July 31, 2001 He wanted to change the bureau’s image from an insular organization to one that participates in task forces with other agencies.

In 2002, Mueller shifted nearly 500 agents from drug enforcement and other criminal investigations, to counterterrorism, upping the number of terrorism agents to 2,600.Schmidt, Susan, “Terrorism focus set for FBI,” The Washington Post, May 29, 2002 He brought in top agents to work in headquarters and updated the FBI’s computer system. He briefed the president daily and talked with congressmen regularly as well, but he shuns reporters.Von Drehle, David and Schmidt, Susan, “Mueller may be stronger after tough week for FBI,” The Washington Post, June 2, 2002

Mueller’s bipartisan relationships likely helped him get through difficult times, like when Time Magazine wrote a 2002 cover story that said “How the FBI Blew the Case,” referencing Sept. 11th, or when the Washington Post revealed that Mueller was using the FBI jet, designated for anti-terrorism missions for public events or to visit field offices.Solomon, John, “Mueller often uses FBI jet bought for counterterrorism,” The Washington Post, June 12, 2007

High-profile Cases

During his time with the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Mueller handled some of its most prominent cases. Before invading Panama in 1989, President George H.W. Bush brought Mueller in to ensure the drug-trafficking case against Panamanian ruler Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega would hold.Lewis, Neil A., “Man in the News: A man made for law enforcement — Robert Swan Mueller III,” The New York Times, July 6, 2001

Mueller also oversaw the investigation of mob boss John Gotti, and he led the successful prosecution of two Libyans after Pan-Am flight 103 was bombed in 1988, killing 193. At the time, it was called the “largest international terrorist investigation ever conducted” by then-FBI Director William S. Sessions.Rowley, James, “U.S. Britain charge two Libyans with blowing up Pan Am 103,” The Associated Press, Nov. 14, 1991 

NSA Wiretapping

Mueller was one of the Justice Department officials who threatened to resign if the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program continued against the will of Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who temporarily was in charge when then-AG Ashcroft was sick.

The Bush administration made changes to the program to avoid the crisis.Eggen, Dan, “FBI Director's Notes Contradict Gonzales's Version Of Ashcroft Visit,” The Washington Post, Aug. 17, 2007 Mueller also told the House Judiciary Committee in July 2007 that he had reservations about the wiretapping program.Schmitt, Richard B., “Gonzales testimony is scrutinized,” Los Angeles Times, Aug. 31, 2007

Death Penalty

Despite some of his conservative views, Mueller was hugely popular in liberal San Francisco. A supporter of both mandatory minimum sentences and the death penalty, Mueller led the first modern federal death penalty case in Northern California.

Congress had reinstated the federal death penalty in 1988. In 2000, Mueller personally prosecuted the case against Walter Pierre Rausini, a southern California drug dealer who was accused of murdering informants. He eventually pleaded guilty and Mueller agreed to a 40-year sentence.“Death penalty case ends with plea to murder solicitations,” The Associated Press, Jan. 27, 2000 Mueller also reportedly pushed for the death penalty for spy Robert Hanssen.Eggen, Dan, “Ex-Marine is praised as tough, skilled,” The Washington Post, July 6, 2001