Robert Mueller

As the agency faces a mounting judicial bottleneck, its heavy reliance on the controversial law is fuelling concerns

Robert S Mueller III, the FBI director who transformed the nation's premier law enforcement agency into a terrorism-fighting force after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks and who later became special counsel in charge of investigating ties between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign, has died. He was 81. "With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away" on Friday night, his family said in a statement Saturday. "His family asks that their privacy be respected." At the FBI, Mueller set about almost immediately overhauling the bureau's mission to meet the law enforcement needs of the 21st century, beginning his 12-year tenure just one week before the Sept 11 attacks and serving across presidents of both political parties. He was nominated by Republican President George W Bush. The cataclysmic event instantaneously switched the bureau's top priority from solving domestic crime to preventing terrorism, a shift that imposed an almost impossibly difficult standard on .

US District Judge Howell, handing a major victory to the Democratic-led House of Representatives, undercut an argument that Trump's fellow Republicans have made in attacking the impeachment inquiry

I think Robert Mueller did a horrible job, both today and with respect to the investigation, said Trump

Trump has claimed that the Mueller inquiry resulted in the president's "complete and total exoneration."

Mueller was originally scheduled to appear before the committee on July 17

Mueller made clear that his team never considered indicting Trump because the Justice Department prohibits the prosecution of a sitting president

President Trump has rejected allegations that his election campaign colluded with the Russians during the 2016 presidential election

The statement came amid demands for Mueller to testify on Capitol Hill about his findings and tension with William Barr

The House Judiciary Committee has asked Mueller to testify on May 15 about his 22-month-long investigation

"There no 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' there are no crimes by me at all," he asserted in a tweet posting

Barr declared the special counsel had found "substantial evidence" President Donald Trump's actions toward the investigation were driven by his "sincere belief" it was politically tainted

More than 30 Democratic representatives, many of whom are in their first term, represent districts that supported Trump in 2016

From the moment the special counsel was named, legal observers anticipated legal challenges such as a subpoena to the president that could build to a constitutional crisis

"Game Over," Donald Trump tweets immediately after Attorney General William Barr's news conference.

Democrats in Congress have started their own investigations

Following are some individuals who came under scrutiny during the investigation but appear to have avoided criminal charges

In September, Manafort pleaded guilty in a parallel case in Washington to attempted witness tapering and conspiring against the United States

Conservative insurgents have repeatedly tried to defeat Congressional incumbents