Facebook Twitter Tumblr Close Skip to main content FactCheck.org® A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center ![\\"Become](\\" mini.png\\"/) ![\\"Follow](\\" twitter.png\\"/) ![\\"Get](\\" ![\\"Follow](\\" instagram-1.png\\"/) ![\\"Sign](\\" ![\\"Help](\\" FactCheck.org® * Home * Articles * Featured Posts * FactCheck Posts * SciCheck * En Español * 2024 elections * Players Guide 2024 * Debunking Viral Claims * Ask a Question * Ask FactCheck * Ask SciCheck * Donate * Topics * President Biden * Donald Trump * Kamala Harris * JD Vance * Tim Walz * health * Coronavirus * immigration * climate change * View All * About Us * Our Mission * Our Process * Our Funding * Our Staff * Undergraduate Fellows * Awards * Request a Correction * Contact Us * Search * More * Viral Claims * Subscribe * Instagram * Threads * YouTube * X (Twitter) * Facebook * TikTok * FactCheck On the Air * Mailbag Debunking Viral Claims # Peddling Mueller Misinformation By Saranac Hale Spencer Posted on October 27, 2017 * 1.8K * * * * Q: Has Robert Mueller resigned as the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election? A: No. He is still in charge of that investigation and has no plans to leave. ### FULL ANSWER Robert S. Mueller III has not resigned as the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. A story claiming otherwise is making the rounds online, but it’s not true. Facebook users flagged the story as potentially false after it appeared on a website called Freedum Junkshun on Oct. 25. The byline on the story is Butch Mannington, who is described in his bio on the site as having twice won the Mike Cernovich Award For Excellence in Journalism. But there is no such award, and Mike Cernovich is an alt-right activist who is best known for helping to spread the so-called “pizzagate” conspiracy theory that drove Edgar Maddison Welch to take an AR-15 rifle into the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop in Washington D.C., and fire shots on Dec. 4, 2016. The bio also says that Mannington was the co-chair for a political action committee called Americans for Trump that raised $250,000 for Trump’s campaign. But Americans for Trump was only just registered as a PAC on Sept. 20, 2017, according to records from the Federal Election Commission. It was registered by a suburban Philadelphia teen. Freedum Junkshun also has a disclaimer that says it “uses facts that don’t exist and relies more on imagination than the truth. In fact, there is likely no truth at all in what you will read here. All of our articles are basically a crock of doody and should be considered satirical whimsies for today’s aging conservative.” But none of that kept at least three other sites from posting the same bogus story. The headline says, “BREAKING: Robert Mueller Resigns After Clinton And Obama’s Treachery Is Revealed.” The story falsely claimed it would happen “by the end of the week,” citing an anonymous “source at the FBI.” Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller’s office, confirmed to FactCheck.org on Oct. 26 that he has not resigned and has no plans to resign, either. ### Sources “BREAKING: Robert Mueller Resigns After Clinton And Obama’s Treachery Is Revealed.” Freedumjunkshun.com. 25 Oct 2017. Mannington, Butch. Bio. Freedumjunkshun.com. Accessed 26 Oct 2017. Cernovich, Mike. Youtube video. Accessed 26 Oct 2017. Welch, Edgar Maddison. Guilty plea. United States District Court for the District of Columbia. 24 Mar 2017. Federal Election Commission. Statement of Organization — Americans for Trump. 20 Sep 2017. Department of Justice. Appointment of Special Counsel. 17 May 2017. Farley, Robert. “Special Counsel Q&A.” FactCheck.org. 19 May 2017. Share the Facts 2017-10-27 18:47:50 UTC FactCheck.org ![\\"FactCheck.org\\"](\\" 7 1 11 ![\\"FactCheck.org](\\" facts/rating_images/factcheck.org/false.png\\") FactCheck.org Rating: False “Robert Mueller resigns after Clinton and Obama’s treachery is revealed.” Freedum Junkshun Website freedumjunkshun.com ![](\\" Wednesday, October 25, 2017 2017-10-25 Read More info * Categories * Debunking Viral Claims * Location * National * Issue * fake news * Russia investigation * People * Robert Mueller Previous StoryVideo: $4,000 Income Increase Doubtful Next StoryTrump Wrong About WTO Record Ask SciCheck Q: Are wind farms harmful to the environment? A: Like all energy sources, wind farms have some negative environmental impacts. But getting energy from wind farms results in dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions than getting it from fossil fuels. Read the full question and answer View the Ask SciCheck archives Have a question? Ask us. Donate Now Because facts matter. ![\\"SciCheck\\'s](\\" ##### SciCheck\'s COVID-19/Vaccination Project ###### Preempting and exposing vaccination and COVID-19 misinformation. ![\\"Proyecto](\\" ##### Proyecto de Vacunación/COVID-19 ###### Precaviendo y exponiendo la desinformación sobre el COVID-19 y sus vacunas ![\\"SciCheck\\"](\\" scicheck.png\\"/) ##### SciCheck ###### Fact-checking science-based claims. ![\\"Facebook](\\" facebook.png\\"/) ##### Facebook Initiative ###### Debunking viral claims. ![\\"Players](\\" ##### Players Guide 2024 ###### The special interest groups behind the TV ads. ![\\"Viral](\\" viralspiral.png\\"/) ##### Viral Spiral ###### Don’t get spun by internet rumors. ![\\"Sign](\\" ##### Sign Up ###### Get free email alerts. ![\\"Mailbag\\"](\\" mailbag.png\\"/) ##### Mailbag ###### Letters from our readers. ![\\"On](\\" ##### On the Air ###### Our staff on TV and radio. ![\\"NewsFeed](\\" ##### NewsFeed Defenders ###### A media literacy game to detect misinformation. * Archives * Privacy * Copyright Policy * Contact Us * Report Accessibility Issues and Get Help © Copyright 2024 FactCheck.org ® A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Robert Mueller resigns after Clinton and Obama’s treachery is revealed