Mueller's Work Is Finished, and That Appears to Be a Relief

It looks like one person who's glad the Robert Mueller investigation is finally over is Robert Mueller himself. Robin Givhan of the Washington Post notices that since he turned in his report, he's been seen with an actual smile on his face. "He looks delighted—or at least at peace," she writes, referring to photos that emerged of Mueller leaving Sunday services in DC. Mueller has always stayed out of the spotlight, the New York Times observes in an analysis, and though nobody knows what's next for him, that seems unlikely to change. When he's been spotted around town over the past two years, it was doing ordinary things: waiting at the help desk at an Apple Store, dining at an unfamous restaurant every Friday, or picking up a new SUV.

Now that his investigation is finished, Mueller hasn't said what he'll do for an encore. As the Times notes, he could go back to the DC law firm WilmerHale, where his clients included the NFL and Sony. He could write a book to state his case, as James Comey did, or launch a speaking tour—but people who know him say those options would be out of character. One of them tells the Times we've seen the last of Mueller, unless congressional committees subpoena him. "I would bet you my house that you’re never going to see him again in the public eye," she says. "I think he resumes his civilian life as if he didn’t have the most important job in the country for the last two years." (More Robert Mueller stories.)