Once the formidable face of high-profile investigations, Robert S. Mueller III has quietly battled Parkinson's disease for the past four years, his family revealed Sunday. The revelation came after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sought his testimony regarding the FBI's handling of Jeffrey Epstein's case; the request has been withdrawn in light of this news. "We've learned that Mr. Mueller has health issues that preclude him from being able to testify," a committee rep tells ABC News.
Mueller, the former special counsel who led the high-profile investigation into connections between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia and also served as FBI director from 2001 to 2013, has had trouble speaking and experienced issues with mobility in recent months, sources tell the New York Times. The paper has this statement from his family:
- "Bob was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the summer of 2021. 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."
Parkinson's disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that impairs movement and, in later stages, speech and other functions; most patients are diagnosed after 60, and there is no cure.
The Times notes that questions about Mueller's health bubbled up after what it terms his "halting performance before Congress in 2019" to discuss his report on Trump and Russia. It marked the last time he spoke publicly. The Times reports he has not sat for an interview with a major publication since either, though he did appear on the NBC News podcast the Oath in December 2020; NBC News observed at the time that "in the interview, Mueller seems more in command than when he spoke to Congress in 2019."
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