Former FBI Director and special counsel Robert Mueller has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, leading the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to withdraw a subpoena, according to the New York Times.
Mueller had been subpoenaed to testify on the FBI’s handling of a federal probe into disgraced financial advisor Jeffrey Epstein in the 2000s, the Times reported. The House Oversight Committee is probing how the George W. Bush administration handled the case, in which Epstein reached a plea agreement.
Mueller has been living in a memory-care facility according to previous reporting, which did not mention specifics about the cause for the move. The House Oversight Committee reportedly withdrew its subpoena of Mueller August 18 due to his health issues.
According to investigative journalist Paul Sperry, Mueller may also currently be in a memory facility. Sperry has suggested that Mueller did not actually write the forward of a forthcoming book “Interference,” and that its authors and publisher may be guilty of fraud. This news also raises questions about how long Mueller has been mentally infirm.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, the Department of Justice (DOJ) appointed Mueller as a special counsel to look into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. A report Mueller penned following the investigation concluded that there was no collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Epstein, who pleaded guilty to sex charges in 2008, reportedly committed suicide in his Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial after he was arrested in 2019 on new charges.
The disgraced financier had extensive ties to celebrities, politicians, and executives, even after he was a convicted sex offender. Among those who were known to have been close were L Brands founder Lex Wexner, director Woody Allen, and Prince Andrew.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates also met with Epstein repeatedly, as did employees of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with Gates meeting with the registered sex offender as late as 2019 despite concerns expressed by his then-wife, Melinda, according to a May 2021 report by The Wall Street Journal.
