This was a spectacular remembrance of Robert Meuller. It exemplified what great character and integrity he had. He was never in a job for himself. He wanted to make the works a better place. Thank you for posting this
Bob’s is a legacy and a story that needs to be written and repeated often as the epitome of a principled public servant and a loving family man. He was a Prince among the men and women for whom he provided leadership and motivation. His dedication, perseverance and integrity deserved persistent recognition! His unvarnished legend, free of exaggeration but heavy on substance and courage will live on and on as is deserved and as will be fortunate for those who follow!
I knew Robert Mueller as an adversary, a tough and talented opponent who was uncompromising in his integrety and his committmtent to firm and absolutely fair prosecution. Bob had two stints in the Northern District of California, the first as an AUSA in the 1970s, gaining experience and honing trial skills while trying ordinary criminal cases and initiating some major drug prosecutions. Years later, after many career advances, he returned to the district as the duly appointed Uited States Attorney. He arrived at a fraught time for the Northern District. Due in large measure to the accellerating and increasingly agressive "war on drugs" relations between the government and the defense bar had become bitter and toxic. The atmosphere did not bode well for the administration of justice in the District, as judges were spending too much of their time refereeing ethics disputes and addressing allegations of misconduct.
Into this cauldron bob Mueller brought his gifts of fairness and reason and dialog. At his sugestion we formed a small committee consisting of then leading members of the defense bar, to meet with him regularly to iron out differences and corect misunderstandings. It fell to me to play a leadership role in the endeavor, and we had a number of productive discussions which cleared the air and greatly imoroved the environmeent in which we all did our important work. Bob was completely open to all manner of complaints and suggestions. If he thought we were wrong or unreasonble, he would say so bluntly. telling us to forget it. But more often he understood our concerns and was ready to address them in a fair and unbiased manner. He was open the compromise and accommodation; If he rejected a request he explained why in clear and cogent terms. In this atmosphere of fairness and mutual respect, natural differences between prosecutors and defendrs remained, but all the anger and distrusr melted away.
When Bob was later appointed to head the FBI, with 9/11 and countless other challenges looming, he took the time to write me a nice note, which I wish I had retained. In it Bob said that his new work was indeed challengeing and of vital importance to the nation. but that he really missed the meetings we had in San Francisco, which improver the work of our district. This was Bob Mueller the human being, and we were all so fortunate that, for a time, he was among us.
This was a spectacular remembrance of Robert Meuller. It exemplified what great character and integrity he had. He was never in a job for himself. He wanted to make the works a better place. Thank you for posting this
Bob’s is a legacy and a story that needs to be written and repeated often as the epitome of a principled public servant and a loving family man. He was a Prince among the men and women for whom he provided leadership and motivation. His dedication, perseverance and integrity deserved persistent recognition! His unvarnished legend, free of exaggeration but heavy on substance and courage will live on and on as is deserved and as will be fortunate for those who follow!
I knew Robert Mueller as an adversary, a tough and talented opponent who was uncompromising in his integrety and his committmtent to firm and absolutely fair prosecution. Bob had two stints in the Northern District of California, the first as an AUSA in the 1970s, gaining experience and honing trial skills while trying ordinary criminal cases and initiating some major drug prosecutions. Years later, after many career advances, he returned to the district as the duly appointed Uited States Attorney. He arrived at a fraught time for the Northern District. Due in large measure to the accellerating and increasingly agressive "war on drugs" relations between the government and the defense bar had become bitter and toxic. The atmosphere did not bode well for the administration of justice in the District, as judges were spending too much of their time refereeing ethics disputes and addressing allegations of misconduct.
Into this cauldron bob Mueller brought his gifts of fairness and reason and dialog. At his sugestion we formed a small committee consisting of then leading members of the defense bar, to meet with him regularly to iron out differences and corect misunderstandings. It fell to me to play a leadership role in the endeavor, and we had a number of productive discussions which cleared the air and greatly imoroved the environmeent in which we all did our important work. Bob was completely open to all manner of complaints and suggestions. If he thought we were wrong or unreasonble, he would say so bluntly. telling us to forget it. But more often he understood our concerns and was ready to address them in a fair and unbiased manner. He was open the compromise and accommodation; If he rejected a request he explained why in clear and cogent terms. In this atmosphere of fairness and mutual respect, natural differences between prosecutors and defendrs remained, but all the anger and distrusr melted away.
When Bob was later appointed to head the FBI, with 9/11 and countless other challenges looming, he took the time to write me a nice note, which I wish I had retained. In it Bob said that his new work was indeed challengeing and of vital importance to the nation. but that he really missed the meetings we had in San Francisco, which improver the work of our district. This was Bob Mueller the human being, and we were all so fortunate that, for a time, he was among us.
My envy overflows.