--- title: How Robert Mueller Works a Case description: I worked with the former FBI director for 12 years. Here's what to know about how he'll approach the Donald Trump and Russia investigation canonical: https://time.com/5016175/robert-mueller-donald-trump-george-papadopoulos/ author: Robert Anderson article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-09T22:51:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:09.161Z article:section: Ideas og:title: I Worked with Robert Mueller for 12 Years. Here's How He Works a Case og:description: "Mark my words, it will start becoming a race to the special counsel’s office." og:url: https://time.com/5016175/robert-mueller-donald-trump-george-papadopoulos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt494491a07a9d1ebf/6988e51ebc6cfc54853e3e02/robert-mueller-working.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller Briefs Senate Intel Committee On Capitol Hill og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: I Worked with Robert Mueller for 12 Years. Here's How He Works a Case twitter:description: "Mark my words, it will start becoming a race to the special counsel’s office." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt494491a07a9d1ebf/6988e51ebc6cfc54853e3e02/robert-mueller-working.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Robert Mueller Works a Case > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Robert Mueller Adds Tax Evasion to Charges Against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates [Watch (HLS stream): Robert Mueller Adds Tax Evasion to Charges Against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/g49KkmNw.m3u8) (1:13)  _Published 2017-10-30. In a dramatic escalation of pressure and stakes, special counsel Robert Mueller filed additional criminal charges Thursday against President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman and his business associate._ by [Robert Anderson](https://time.com/author/robert-anderson/) ## Robert Anderson Nov 9, 2017 10:51 PM UTC  Special counsel Robert Mueller leaves after a closed meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee June 21, 2017 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. Special counsel Robert Mueller leaves after a closed meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee June 21, 2017 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Robert Anderson](https://time.com/author/robert-anderson/) ## Robert Anderson Nov 9, 2017 10:51 PM UTC I worked for Bob Mueller for 12 years while he was the [FBI director](http://time.com/4783549/robert-mueller-fbi-special-counsel-donald-trump-russia/), running counterintelligence, espionage and cybercrime investigations. What I saw recently was a classic law-enforcement response to a suspected Russian intelligence or political-influence operation. And it was classic Bob Mueller. Already, he appears to have [uncovered details](http://time.com/5002225/robert-mueller-indictments-paul-manafort/) of a far-reaching Russian political-influence campaign. Russian spy services use two main methods to run agents. Either they recruit people as [traditional assets](http://time.com/3685092/americans-russian-spy-bust/), where the targets know they’re working for a foreign government. Or they use unwitting agents—people targeted to exploit not just what they know, but who they know. That’s what seems to have happened here. Russian intelligence services have run political-influence operations since the beginning of time, and if you put a seasoned intelligence officer in front of a traditional, unsuspecting businessman, there’s just no match. The Russian goal appears to have been to use members of the Trump campaign to get at the ultimate target: [Donald Trump](http://time.com/5007906/trump-russia-crime-poll/) himself. If I want to spy on Trump, I don’t need or necessarily want to get directly in front of him; I will use sources, or I will use an intermediary known as a cutout. The Russian intelligence services will then dangle something the cutout wants, whether it’s sex, money, drugs or information. In this case, it was [Hillary Clinton’s emails.](http://time.com/4551810/hillary-clinton-emails-answers/) To uncover just how far the Russian operation got, Mueller will focus his team. He’ll go after the lower-level or lower-ranking guys like [George Papadopoulos](http://time.com/5002832/george-papadopoulos-guilty-plea-indictment/). He’ll also use the strategy of following the money. In the next weeks and months, you’ll see more indictments. You’re going to see wire fraud. You’re going to see mail fraud. You’re going to see violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. You’re also going to see other charges. Moving money around countries to avoid taxes and criminal prosecution are the kinds of violations we saw continuously while I was working counterintelligence and espionage investigations. A lot of those crimes carry [20-year prison sentences or more](http://time.com/5002415/paul-manafort-was-just-indicted-for-conspiracy-against-the-united-states-whats-that/) for a single violation. Which is why so many people are going to flip and roll over and testify for Mueller. Hard-core criminals aren’t going to talk. You can tell them you’re going to put them in jail for 100 years, but they don’t care. Professional, hard-core spies are not going to talk, because the foreign country they work for is going to retaliate or potentially kill family members left behind in their country. But when you talk about people who are used to spending nearly [$1 million in three years on business suits out of a place in Cyprus](http://time.com/money/5002499/paul-manafort-money-laundering-explained/), those guys are not going to do 25 years in jail. It doesn’t matter who they are going to roll over on, there’s no way Manafort is going to do 25 years in jail if he can avoid it. He can’t last. I would be greatly surprised if Papadopoulos is the only person who’s been cooperating with Mueller. Knowing the way we worked all these other very sophisticated cases for him, he potentially has other informants. And when the people who may be cooperating with the investigation start consensually recording conversations, it’s all over. That’s why Bob Mueller’s going about this in the way that he is. He knows these guys are not seasoned criminals. And he knows they’re going to roll over on each other. Mark my words, it will start becoming a race to the special counsel’s office. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] Mr. Manafort, did you commit a crime? Any reaction Mr. Manafort? Mr. Manafort, did you collude with Russians? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5016175/robert-mueller-donald-trump-george-papadopoulos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5016175/robert-mueller-donald-trump-george-papadopoulos/"},"headline":"How Robert Mueller Works a Case","datePublished":"2017-11-09T22:51:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:09.161Z","description":"I worked with the former FBI director for 12 years. 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