Backlash after Trump says he is ‘glad’ special prosecutor who pursued Russia links is dead

Robert Mueller identified contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia, but did not allege a criminal conspiracy

Former FBI director Robert Mueller. Photo: Reuters

There is growing backlash against US president Donald Trump, after he said he was glad to hear of the death of Robert Mueller, a special prosecutor who probed his links to Russia.

The US technocrat who transformed the FBI into a terrorism-fighting force after the September 11 attacks, and later investigated ties between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign, died at the age of 81.