Michael German is a retired American

FBI agent The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, scholar, and writer. He is a fellow in the

Brennan Center for Justice The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is a liberal or progressive nonprofit law and public policy institute. The organization is named after Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. The Brennan Cente ...

's Liberty and National Security program.

Life

During his 16-year career as a Special Agent in the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, German spent many months undercover, first among

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

s and then among right-wing

militants The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin ...

. German left the FBI in 2004 as a whistleblower, alleging misconduct and mismanagement in counterterrorism cases. German reported this mismanagement to Congress. His 2008 book, ''Thinking Like a Terrorist: Insights of a Former FBI Undercover Agent'', was about his experiences as a special agent. He spent seven years as a Senior Policy Counsel at the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. ...

’s Washington Legislative Office, working on issues relating to national security policies and civil rights. German joined writer and director Daniel Ragussis in creating the screenplay for ''

Imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

'', starring

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. Radcliffe rose to fame at age twelve for portraying the title character in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He starred in all eight films in the series, from '' Harry Potter a ...

as an undercover FBI Special Agent under an FBI case agent played by

Toni Collette Toni Collette (born Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television, blockbusters and independent films, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, wit ...

. His work has appeared in the ''Guardian'', ''Time'', ''The Cipher Brief'', and ''Defence One''.

Works

*''Thinking Like a Terrorist: Insights of a Former FBI Undercover Agent,'' University of Nebraska Press, 2008. *''Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Democracy,'' The New Press, 2019.

References

External links

*
Michael German on Religious Terrorism
''Amanpour & Co''. 04.29.2019 Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Scholars of terrorism People in counterterrorism {{US-law-enforcement-bio-stub