Who is Robert Mueller?
The character and integrity of Robert Mueller has been under attack lately, from Republican politicians, talk show hosts, and even several of our own members here at Newstalkers. I can't help but wonder if all of these people attacking him, are familiar with just who this man is. The following is a brief rundown of his history.
Robert Mueller was born in New York City, August 7, 1944, the son of a WW2 Navy veteran. In 1962, he graduated from St. Paul's school in Concord, New Hampshire where he captained the hockey, soccer, and lacrosse teams. From there, he went on to continue study at Princeton where he earned an A.B. in politics. One of his lacrosse teammates at Princeton, David Spencer Hackett, was killed in the Vietnam war, and this inspired Mueller to pursue military service. Mueller earned an M.A. in international relations from New York University in 1967 before pursuing his Juris Doctor degree.
Mueller entered officer training in the United States Marine Corps in 1968, and was sent to South Vietnam in July of that year to serve as the rifle platoon leader with second platoon, H company, 2nd battalion, 4th marines, 3rd marine division. In April 1969, he received a gunshot wound to the thigh, recovered, and returned to lead his platoon. His service awards include the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and Parachutist Badge.
Mueller received his Law Degree in 1973 and served for 12 years in United States Attorney offices, first in San Francisco where he rose to be chief of the criminal division, then in Boston where he investigated and prosecuted major financial fraud, terrorism, public corruption cases, narcotics conspiracies, and international money laundering. Mueller worked on international security matters and oversaw prosecutions including Manuel Noriega, the Lockerbie bombing case and the Gambino crime family boss John Gotti.
Mueller, was nominated for the position of FBI director by George W Bush on July 6, 2001 and was confirmed on August 2, 2001 by a 98-0 vote. On September 4, 2013 Mueller was replaced by James Comey.
Robert Mueller is, without a doubt, one of the finest people this country has ever produced, a war hero, patriot, and public servant whose reputation is as stellar as they come. We can never repay this man for what he has done for us, no accolades will ever suffice. Until very recently his honesty and integrity had never been challenged in the slightest way. Those who would impugn this man's character, especially in defense of a dangerous, lawless president like Donald Trump, bring great shame upon themselves, their families, and their country.
Thank God [it's an expression not a confirmation of god belief!
] we have people like Mueller serving the US public.
The very same reasons that make Mueller a good man and a good investigator are the same reasons that trump, trump's owners and trump's flock all hate him. Well, that and the fact he's finding things out scares them pretty bad too.
I can see the moaning coming: some form of "nobody should dare investigate trump OR his inner circle (loyal henchmen)"
with a touch of the latest anti-Mueller gossip and a sprinkling of "Whatabout Clinton."
The problem with Mueller is that has allowed his team to become dominated by anti-Trump people, and probably dislikes Trump himself. At this point the investigation has become irretrievably tainted and a fair outcome appears to be unlikely. Since a special investigator can go anywhere the breadcrumbs lead, he ought to take a look at the felonious actions of the Obama administration and of course her royal highnass...Hildabeast.
I have no doubt that Mueller and most of his team dislike Trump, Rex, everyone with a functioning brain in their head dislikes the lunatic traitor Trump.
It wouldn't be much of a investigation if it was conducted by pro-trump people, would it? The Benghazi investigators weren't pro-Clinton now were they? Seems to me they were quite hostile to Clinton and proud of it.
DING!!! We have a winner in the who is going to be the first to add "a sprinkle of whatabout Clinton" contest.
Here's a good one: WHAT ABOUT tRUMP?
Since the two primary political opinions in the US are pro-Trump and anti-Trump, would pro-Trump investigators have been preferable?
Everyone has personal opinions, even high-level law enforcement officials. Does that then indicate that they can't fulfill their duties in a non-partisan manner?
He appears to have a great reputation, the necessary experience, and provided he is without political bias I would venture to say he's the right person for the job he is doing.
He's a Republican, Buzz.
He's a republican but he's not trump's kind of republican...therefore trump wants to fire him
Even though Trump and staff have stated numerous times that he is not/will not fire him???
trump has proven how many times that he and the truth are strangers
I guess it just goes over their heads. Read my lips....I will not fire Mueller!
What ever. The 'snorker in chief' also said he'd show his tax returns at least a half a dozen times. We're still waiting. Now, its up to Mueller I suppose.
Trump is one of those 'special republicans.' Liar, cheat and a fraud, ya know.
He is a Republican, if you are talking political bias wouldn't the president need to be a Democrat?
As I said, notwithstanding his party affiliation he would have to put his party loyalty behind him, and I hope he does.
That will be no problem for a man of Mueller's character, Buzz, and besides, Trump has already turned every decent, honorable Republican against him with his outrageous behavior.
Trump's only affiliation is with himself. If Dems were bowing down he'd love them. The man is pretty much an elderly, bloated child.
t there isn't even the figleaf of "independence" when you appoint a career swamp-dweller like Robert Mueller, a man who has relationships with every player in Washington going back decades. The parade of hacks infesting the cable shows to inform us solemnly that they've known Mueller for years and he's the very apotheosis of a straight shooter is, in fact, the strongest evidence of why he should never have been appointed : he's the insiders' insider. When Mueller decided to stage his pre-dawn swoop on Paul Manafort's bedroom, for example, he was raiding the home of a longtime client of his own law firm, WilmerHale.
2) As for that "straight shooter" guff, as I wrote last year about the previous "eagle scout" :
And so it goes with Comey's successor as Trump's Javert. My advice is that, whenever lifelong swampers assure us of the integrity of any individual, assume "straight arrow" is Beltway-speak for "slimey duplicitous permanent-state operator" and you can't go wrong.
3) One of the first things Mueller did was to appoint FBI counter-intelligence honcho Peter Strzok to his "independent" team. He should not have done that. Not because Strzok is a Democrat (presumably almost everyone at the FBI votes either Democrat or Republican), but because Strzok had been a key player in Comey's Hillary investigation. The investigators' comparative treatment of the two candidates was already an issue, and the subject of the Russia investigation had already spent the better part of a year denouncing the investigation of his rival as a sham and a disgrace. In effect, Trump had already, without even knowing of the guy's existence or his Zelig-like ubiquity, questioned Strzok's integrity. So why appoint him to a second investigation?
4) Furthermore, why similarly appoint his mistress, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, to both investigations? The FBI has over 35,000 employees. Yet the same handful of key players are running both the Clinton and Trump cases, even though the latter is supposed to be "independent". So the same operatives are meeting with MI6 dossier-concocter Christopher Steele , and going to the FISA court to get surveillance warrants, and entrapping Michael Flynn. The appalling Mueller effectively merged the two investigations into one continuous caper run soup to nuts by the same crowd. Phase One: Get Hillary off the hook. Phase Two: Get Trump on it.
5) Just as the Hillary investigation merged with the Trump investigation, so both merged with Fusion GPS, the oppo-research guys working for the Clinton campaign. The conflicts of interest intertwine so thoroughly that they reach up beyond the FBI into the highest reaches of the Department of Justice. At this stage, it would be no surprise to learn that Mueller and Comey had accidentally failed to disclose that they were the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Fusion GPS. Am I exaggerating? By maybe a hair. This week it emerged that the Associate Deputy Attorney-General, Bruce Ohr, "failed to disclose" that his wife Nellie was working for Fusion GPS.
Oh, really? On the reception desk? As a security guard? No, she was hired by Fusion GPS to do anti-Trump research.
So Attorney-General Jeff Sessions (who's the root of a lot of this mess, up to and including Alabammy going blue) is obliged to recuse himself, but, meanwhile, his Associate Deputy is meeting with Christopher Steele and the head of Fusion GPS and has his wife on the payroll of Fusion GPS but it never occurs to him that this is anything he needs to mention to anyone, least of all dear old Recusable Jeff. You can apparently rise to the ranks of Associate Deputy Attorney-General in the Department of Justice without any grasp of basic ethical considerations. And, when you're found out, you're mildly "demoted", but the fact that you're a walking toilet of ethics breaches goes otherwise unpunished.
Quit being so factual Sean - you'll scare them away.
This is what an actual "independent" counsel does:
Ken Starr hired many, if not an outright majority of Democrats, as lawyers. One told him he hoped to find evidence to exonerate Bill Clinton.
Mueller surrounded himself with obnoxious, partisan hacks with vendettas against Trump.
The process is tainted so badly it smells like swamp gas.
Mueller wasn't assigned as an 'Independent' counsel, he was assigned as the Special Counsel.
Really? Please post a link to a list of the names on Starr's team.
Again, link?
Unfounded opinion.
Actually, had I known this article about Mueller was going to become a Trump-bashing site I would not have bothered to comment on it, and it's too late to delete my comments.
Actually, seems more like Mueller bashing (as expected,) but as you wish..
I bashed Trump in the last sentence of my blog so it shouldn't have been such a big surprise.
After Muleller's investigation for the NFL of the Ray Rice case, I don't believe anything he says
So far he has been very little talk and absolutely no walk.
Mueller's integrity and honesty is above question or dispute. I believe that he will find that Trump colluded with the Russians, that they provided material help to his campaign and he is fact still working with Putin now, but that is my personal opinion. That said, I trust Mueller's integrity and honesty so much that if he does a very thorough and complete investigation, with no interference from the White House or Congress, and he vindicates Donald Trump I will accept his word completely.