Amid sober tributes to the former FBI director, President Trump wrote: “I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!”
Trump accuses Obama of treason over 2016 election allegations
Donald Trump claims that former President Obama committed treason by attempting to sabotage his 2016 election win with links to Russian interference.
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Numerous Democrats and Republicans condemned Trump’s remarks.Michael Steele, a former head of the Republican National Committee, called Trump “a vile disgusting man” for his statement.”Whether you support the President or not, you know this comment is disgusting,” Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts wrote.
As farewells and condolences circulated following the death of Robert Mueller, the former special counsel got no sympathy from the most powerful man he investigated, President Donald Trump.
Mueller, who served as special counsel during the investigation into possible Russian interference in favor of Trump during the 2016 presidential election, died at 81 following a multi-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. He served as FBI director from Sept. 4, 2001, to Sept. 4, 2013.
Trump reacted to Mueller’s passing in a March 21 post on Truth Social that said: “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Former FBI unit chief Paul Bresson, who served under Mueller for 12 years, called Trump’s words “devastating,” adding that he “admired his integrity, professionalism, and humility.” Mueller, he told USA TODAY, “merits better.”
Trump comments condemned, celebrated
Here is more reaction to the president’s comments:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered condolences to Mueller’s family, and said in a social media post: “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.”Michael Steele, a former head of the Republican National Committee, called Trump “a vile disgusting man. Petty and pathetic, you are a hypocrite who reeks of weakness and insecurities with no moral core.”Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts − who like Mueller, is a former Marine −posted: “Whether you support the President or not, you know this comment is disgusting.”Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska called Trump’s comments “wrong and unchristian behavior” in a text message to Politico, and said “the vast majority of Americans want better.”MAGA activist Laura Loomer defended Trump. “We shouldn’t be sad when bad people die,” she wrote.Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, who was convicted of several felonies in the Mueller probe, wrote on X: “The judgement of Robert Mueller has moved to a much higher court.”The Russia investigation
Trump and Mueller’s feud stems from the former FBI director’s investigation and his 2019 final report, which concluded that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump. However, there was no evidence that anyone associated with the Trump campaign at the time colluded with the Russian government.
According to Trump, the investigations into his first White House campaign and its connections with Moscow are a hoax. The president, along with some other Republican lawmakers, has continued to claim that former President Barack Obama’s staff is responsible for the “Russia collusion hoax.”
Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush responded to Trump’s claims, telling the BBC and New York Times in 2025, “Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response.”
“But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” he added.
Thirty-four people were indicted in Mueller’s Russia probe, including six former Trump advisers, 26 Russians, one California man, and a London-based lawyer. Seven, including five of the six former Trump advisers, pleaded guilty.
Mueller continued to defend Russia probe
Before Mueller’s death, he continued to defend his two-year investigation into collusion between Russia and Trump during the 2016 presidential election, writing in a Washington Post op-ed in 2020, “The work of the special counsel’s office – its report, indictments, guilty pleas and convictions – should speak for itself,” he wrote.
Mueller also responded to Trump’s and others’ claims that the investigation was “illegitimate” and the special counsel’s “motives were improper.”
“Russia’s actions were a threat to America’s democracy. It was critical that they be investigated and understood,” Mueller writes. “By late 2016, the FBI had evidence that the Russians had signaled to a Trump campaign adviser that they could assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information damaging to the Democratic candidate.”
In addition to defending the investigation, he also disputed the claims that Roger Stone, a longtime Republican strategist and Trump ally, was a “victim of our office.” Stone was convicted in 2019 of seven felony charges in relation to the 2016 Russia probe, including obstructing a congressional investigation, making false statements and witness tampering. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison but was later granted clemency.
“We made every decision in Stone’s case, as in all our cases, based solely on the facts and the law and in accordance with the rule of law,” Mueller wrote in the op-ed. “The women and men who conducted these investigations and prosecutions acted with the highest integrity. Claims to the contrary are false.”
Mueller diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2021
In a statement obtained by USA TODAY, Mueller’s family said, “With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away last night. His family asks that their privacy be respected.”
Mueller’s death comes nearly five years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He learned of his diagnosis in the summer of 2021, the New York Times reported, citing a 2025 family statement the outlet obtained, which came just days before he had been called to testify before a congressional committee about the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigations.
“He retired from the practice of law at the end of that year,” the statement said, per the Times. “He taught at his law school alma mater during the fall of both 2021 and 2022, and he retired at the end of 2022. His family asks that his privacy be respected.”
Contributing: Josh Meyer, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy and Aysha Bagchi − USA TODAY