Donald Trump’s gloating reaction to the death of former FBI director Robert Mueller, who investigated the president’s ties to Russia during his 2016 campaign, reveals “everything you need to know about the debasement of public life in the United States,” said Reed Brody, a former New York assistant attorney general. Brody described Mueller as a model of institutional integrity and independence that now feels “increasingly distant,” noting that he was appointed under George W. Bush and reappointed by Barack Obama, and was “trusted across party lines.” He added that Mueller “embodied this idea that law enforcement doesn’t serve the president.”