Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated links between Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign and alleged Russian election collusion, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years ago, his family said in a statement on Sunday.
Mueller, 81, who served as the director of the FBI from 2001 until 2013, led the Russia investigation during Trump’s first term.
Over the past few months, Mueller has had difficulty speaking and had mobility issues, The New York Times reported, citing the family statement. Because of health concerns, a congressional committee has withdrawn a request for Mueller to testify on Tuesday in the investigation of the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigations.
“Bob was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the summer of 2021,” the family said in a statement to the newspaper. “He retired from the practice of law at the end of that year. 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.”
The statement after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said it would subpoena Mueller to testify on Tuesday as part of its inquiry into the federal government’s handling of the investigations and prosecutions of Epstein.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died by suicide in 2019 in a New York federal prison.
Questions arose about Mueller’s health after he delivered what appeared to be a halting performance before Congress in 2019 about his report on ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia, and whether the president had obstructed that investigation. Mueller has not spoken publicly or given an interview to a major publication since that testimony.
While Mueller’s report found a concerted effort by Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, it established no criminal conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Mueller eventually decided that any potential charges against Trump were rendered moot because of the Justice Department’s policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the nervous system that gets worse over time. The disease causes nerve cells in the brain to weaken and eventually die, leading to symptoms that affect movement, including slowness, tremors, stiffness and impaired balance.