Before Robert Mueller was tapped to lead an independent investigation into President Trump's ties to Russian election meddling, the Trump team was seriously considering him for the job of FBI director. Citing "two sources familiar with the process," NPR reported Friday that Mueller was a "top candidate to lead the FBI" and that he'd gotten far enough along in the process that he'd met with officials at the White House and the Justice Department about the job.
Instead, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein tapped Mueller to head up the independent Russia probe, which was launched shortly after Trump abruptly fired former FBI Director James Comey on May 9. The fact that Rosenstein was willing to reach into the White House's pool of FBI director candidates "underscores the heavy pressure Rosenstein was under to find an independent law enforcement leader to take charge of the Russia probe," NPR noted.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Experience Tanzania’s untamed wilderness from Lemala’s luxury lodgesThe Week Recommends The vast protected landscapes are transformed into a verdant paradise during ‘emerald season’
-
Sudoku hard: October 9, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Codeword: October 9, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-offSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
