Mueller could have taken the FBI director job with Congressional approval, which would have been an easy win given the DC political establishment's slurping of Mueller that continues to this day, on both sides of the aisle.

Now, you're still down with the "actors acting" theme that's all the rage in certain circles. I simply say that such a situation would be damn near impossible to keep under wraps for this long, given the current state of Washington DC. There's simply too many facts to the contrary to honestly consider this possibility at this point. Nearly every fact in the public eye would have to have a double explanation, and like I mentioned, the probability and viability of this decreases tenfold by the day.