That was the point of all the 1,000 phone calls that Mueller's group made and the subsequent offer to turn the records over to the AP. They were looking for the "law enforcement official" who claimed to send the league the DVD. They couldn't find him, and the AP declined to turn over their source, which is within their right. If you look at the details of the AP's original story, the "law enforcement official's" claims are pretty shaky. He claims he sent an unmarked package to the NFL league offices and attached a note asking to receive a call back on a disposable cell phone. He claims to have received a VM on that disposable from the league office. Mueller checked every phone call made from the league office on that day, and offered to give the AP access to the records. The AP declined. They also set up an anonymous tip line among other measures. What more could they have done?
As far as him not being truly "independent," he works for a major national law firm. This kind of work probably requires the sophistication of a major national law firm. I am guessing every major law firm in the country has done at least some work for either the NFL directly or one of its network partners. The number of firms in the country that could handle this type of investigation with any competence is probably pretty small. No matter who you pick to do it, there will be a way to discredit them if you want to look hard enough.
Mueller is a former FBI Director. Former US Marine. Purple heart and all that. If we can find a way to say this guy is dirty, then there is utterly no one else who would pass the test.
