|
The New York Times, citing a statement from Mueller's family and
people close to him, reported Sunday night that Mueller had been
diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the summer of 2021 and has
had difficulty speaking.
Mueller was appointed FBI director in 2001 by then-President
George W. Bush and shepherded the bureau's evolution into a
national security and intelligence-gathering agency. He held the
job for more than a decade, resigning in 2013.
In 2017, he was tapped by the Justice Department to serve as
special counsel in charge of the investigation into potential
coordination between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and
Russia.
His team over the course of the next two years revealed efforts
by Russian operatives to interfere in the election on Trump's
behalf, and secured criminal charges and convictions against
multiple Trump associates. But it did not find sufficient
evidence to prove an illegal conspiracy between Moscow and the
campaign to sway the election.
Mueller has rarely spoken about the investigation since its
conclusion but did testify before Congress in July 2019, an
appearance that drew attention because of the sometimes stilted
and halting manner of his testimony.
Last month, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the
House Oversight Committee, issued subpoenas to Mueller and more
than a half dozen other former law enforcement and government
officials for testimony about the years-long investigation into
Epstein, whose August 2019 death following his arrest on sex
trafficking charges was determined to have been a suicide.
Mueller was FBI director during an earlier Justice Department
investigation of Epstein that resulted in a non-prosecution
agreement that allowed the wealthy financier to plead guilty to
state charges in Florida. It was not clear whether Mueller would
have any knowledge or details about how that agreement came to
be.
Parkinson’s is a neurologic disease that robs people of control
over their movements. It typically starts with tremors and is
characterized by slow movement, a shuffling gait, stiff limbs,
balance problems and slurred speech. Though there is no cure,
there are treatments.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
