Former FBI Director Robert Mueller dies at 81; Trump reacts

"Good, I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!"

He brought charges against multiple Trump associates during the Russia investigation, including former campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

His final report detailed extensive contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia but did not establish a criminal conspiracy.

Mueller declined to make a traditional prosecutorial decision on whether Trump obstructed justice, citing longstanding Justice Department policy against indicting a sitting president.

Mueller's family announced his death in a statement. 

A cause of death was not immediately known.

Mueller had been in ill health after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2021.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer withdrew a subpoena for Mueller to testify in September in the panel's Jeffrey Epstein investigation after learning he had health issues that prevented him from appearing.

Mueller had difficulty with speech and mobility and was unable to appear before Congress, his family said at the time.

A Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, Mueller built a decades-long career in law enforcement and national security. 

He worked as a federal prosecutor and later served as a U.S. attorney in San Francisco before taking on senior roles at the Justice Department.

He was appointed FBI director in 2001, just one week before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and went on to lead the bureau through a major shift toward counterterrorism. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.