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Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last month, America lost a man who devoted his life to serving America. Robert Mueller passed away on March 20. He left behind an amazing legacy of patriotism, honesty, integrity, and courage.
In 1968, at the height of the Vietnam war, Robert Mueller chose to enlist in the Marine Corps. He was a rifle platoon leader. Years later, he said that of all his accomplishments in life, he was ``most proud the Marine Corps deemed me worthy of leading other Marines.''
He earned a Bronze Star for valor when his platoon was ambushed, suffering multiple casualties. He rescued--personally rescued--a wounded marine. He earned a Purple Heart after being wounded by enemy fire while leading his platoon to rescue soldiers who were pinned down by the enemy.
While Mr. Mueller's time in the Marines ended in 1970, that is far from the end of his service to this country. After his military service, Robert Mueller became a lawyer and spent most of his life in public service.
A lifelong Republican--a lifelong Republican--he served for many years as a prosecutor and senior Justice Department official under both Republican and Democratic Presidents alike.
Throughout the 1990s, Mr. Mueller would serve in various positions at the Department of Justice, working as a senior litigator in the Homicide Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California. Mueller's work won him the admiration of both President George W. Bush and the U.S. Senate.
One week before September 11, 2001, Bob Mueller was sworn in as Director of the FBI. In the aftermath of the horrific 9/11 terrorist attack, Bob Mueller worked tirelessly to make our Nation safe.
Director Mueller led the FBI in a tumultuous time. After the worst terror attack in American history, Bob Mueller more than any single individual was responsible for modernizing the FBI to combat the threats that we face in the 21st century. It was my honor to support him in that effort.
It is no surprise that when his term with the FBI was set to expire in 2011, President Obama asked the Senate to extend Mueller's term by 2 years. The vote in the Senate was unanimous--100 to nothing--in favor of Bob Mueller, as it should have been.
Mr. Mueller left the FBI in 2013, and even that was not the end of his service to the American people. In 2017, Director Mueller was asked to serve his Nation one last time. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a Trump appointee, asked Mueller to serve as special counsel to investigate Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 election.
While my colleagues and I have spent many years debating the merits of the Mueller report, his work on Russia's interference in the 2016 election and throughout his time at DOJ and FBI demonstrates true character, hard work, courage, honesty, professionalism, and a dedication to our Constitution.
In honor of his legacy, I introduced a resolution with my colleagues from Virginia, his home State, that recognizes the contributions Bob Mueller made to our Nation. I will now make a unanimous consent request to pass the resolution.
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am disappointed that the junior Senator from Indiana has blocked the Senate from honoring an American hero, Bob Mueller, who protected our national security with his life and for decades served the call to public service.
This is so unusual, to come to the floor and to honor someone who has served the county the way Bob Mueller did and to have an objection. And to say that it was a ``political potshot'' against Donald Trump--it was not at all. The effort that I made on the floor was to extol the virtues of a man who served this country and risked his life for this country over and over again.
My colleague is objecting for one reason only: President Donald Trump despises Robert Mueller and his memory because Trump's own administration appointed Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. Mr. Mueller's comprehensive investigation resulted in 37 indictments, 7 guilty pleas or convictions, and 14 criminal referrals to other U.S. Department of Justice counterparts. This, to Donald Trump, was an unforgivable sin.
Do you remember what President Trump said when he heard that this man died, exactly what he said? The President of the United States said of Bob Mueller:
Good. I'm glad he's dead.
``Good. I'm glad he's dead''--words from the mouth of the President of the United States, a man who poses as the messiah or some doctor; I don't understand which.
``Good. I'm glad he's dead''--the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief, responding to the passing of a marine, Bob Mueller, who received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.
This is not the first time the President has attacked an American war hero. I am sorry that the Senator from Indiana joined in that attack. We cannot pretend this cruel and un-American behavior is normal. I am sorry the Senator from Indiana sees it differently.
I want to say to Bob Mueller's family, who I believe is watching: He is still an American hero in my eyes, and though this political move was made on the floor--and it seldom is made; I am sorry--it doesn't change one bit the fact that Bob Mueller served this country honorably, with dignity and character, his whole life.
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