ADRIAN MA, HOST:
Former FBI director and special counsel Robert Mueller has died at the age of 81. He helped transform the bureau and later came to national attention for his investigation of President Trump. NPR's national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson followed Mueller's long career, and she's here now to tell us more about him. Thanks for being here, Carrie.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Happy to do it.
MA: Carrie, you interviewed Mueller several times over the years. What do you remember about him?
JOHNSON: He really was a guy who would run toward a tough assignment, really an indispensable man in Washington for many years, who was called on to solve some of the hardest problems in law enforcement. In person, when you sat down with him, he was a just-the-facts kind of guy. He was conservative in dress and demeanor - white shirts, no loud ties. He didn't want to waste time. His friends joked that he should have been a drill sergeant on Parris Island. And, Adrian, he was a decorated Marine for his service during the Vietnam War. He won a bronze star for rescuing a fellow Marine, and he was shot in the war, winning a Purple Heart.
MA: I understand Mueller was also the longest serving FBI director since J. Edgar Hoover. What stands out about his tenure at the FBI?
JOHNSON: From the start, it was remarkable. Mueller was confirmed by the Senate to lead the FBI under President George W. Bush in 2001, only a week before terror attacks struck the United States on September 11. That was an enormous shock to the system. FBI agents and technicians spent weeks searching for survivors and evidence and helping recover bodies from the wreckage in New York, the Twin Towers. Many FBI agents and employees later suffered health problems from their work there.
The bureau also sifted through tens of thousands of leads about the hijackers. President Bush told Mueller, make sure this never happens again. The challenge was really to transform the FBI from an agency that reacted to crime into one that identified terror plots and prevented them from happening. Mueller's deputy John Pistole described the assignment this way.
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JOHN PISTOLE: He directed and implemented what is arguably the most significant change in the FBI's 105-year history.
JOHNSON: This was a hard job. Many FBI agents resisted Mueller's marine style approach at the time, but they did respect him for owning up to problems and trying to fix them.
MA: And Mueller is probably best known for his work as a prosecutor. Can you remind us about some of his top assignments?
JOHNSON: Sure, earlier in his career, he worked as a prosecutor in Boston, San Francisco and in D.C. At one point, he went into a lucrative job in the private sector, but he did not like it. So he asked if he could go back to work prosecuting homicides in Washington, D.C., in an era when violent crime was really high. Mueller's probably best known for his work as special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election. His team charged many people, including President Trump's former campaign chairman and his national security adviser, with crimes.
As for Trump himself, Mueller concluded he could not make a judgment about the president's culpability because of Justice Department policies that say a sitting president cannot be indicted. But Mueller later told Congress he did not exonerate or clear Donald Trump over obstruction of justice, and Donald Trump never got over that. Today Trump posted on social media, quote, "good. I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people." Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi responded on social media that there is no bottom, even for Trump. Thompson said Mueller did his job honestly and told the truth.
MA: And lastly, what about the reaction from the legal and law enforcement community about Mueller's death?
JOHNSON: A lot of condolences today. The WilmerHale law firm, where Mueller worked late in his career, basically said they were very sorry to his family. They called him an extraordinary leader and public servant and a person of the greatest integrity. They talked about all the ways he served the country, said that was exemplary and inspiring. And, you know, former President Barack Obama said Mueller was one of the finest directors in the history of the FBI and a man who saved countless lives. Obama said it was a relentless commitment to the rule of law and unwavering belief in our bedrock values that made him one of the most respected public servants of our time.
MA: We've been speaking with Carrie Johnson, NPR's national justice correspondent, about the death of Robert Mueller. Thanks again, Carrie.
JOHNSON: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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