Ex-FBI director, former Marine Robert Mueller to receive West Point's Thayer Award

The longest-serving FBI director since J. Edgar Hoover — and a decorated Marine officer — will receive the U.S. Military Academy's Sylvanus Thayer Award later this year, the West Point Association of Graduates announced in a Monday news release.Robert Mueller's time atop the bureau from 2001 to 2013 capped decades of public service that began in the late 1960s, when he joined the Marine Corps after graduating from Princeton University. He commanded a rifle platoon in 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam, according to his FBI biography, and received a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and other decorations.

After his time in the Marines, Mueller earned his law degree and served as a federal prosecutor in San Francisco, Boston and Washington, D.C​. Along with stints in the private sector, he also served in the Justice Department as an assistant to the attorney general, leading cases against everyone from Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to mob boss John Gotti.

 

Appointed by President George W. Bush, Mueller was in his FBI post for eight days before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He would serve under Bush and President Obama before the end of his second term in 2013. Hoover was the only director with more time in charge, serving from 1924 to 1972.In his job with the bureau, Mueller "helped lead the effort to protect the nation and its citizens, and counter those seeking our destruction," said retired Lt. Gen. Larry Jordan, board chairman of the West Point Association of Graduates, in the release. "Mr. Mueller’s impressive record in serving our nation is an inspiration, and truly exemplifies the West Point values of ‘Duty, Honor, Country.' "

After his time at the FBI, Mueller became a partner in the Washington, D.C.-based WilmerHale law firm. He also was hired by the NFL to report on the league's handling of evidence in the domestic-abuse case against Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice.