Michael Arthur Ledeen (; August 1, 1941 – May 17, 2025) was an American scholar
and
neoconservative foreign policy analyst. He was a consultant to the
United States National Security Council
The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and Foreign relations of the United States, foreign policy matter ...
, the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
, and the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...
. He held the Freedom Scholar chair at the
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...
where he was a scholar for 20 years, and also held the similarly named chair at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He was very close to Italian politician
Antonio Martino. Ledeen was also noted to have done work for Italian intelligence agency
SISMI, having received over $100,000 in payment to offshore bank accounts for services including but not limited to training Italian intelligence operatives. Ledeen denied these allegations but admitted that he did do work for SISMI and was paid for it.
Academic career
Ledeen earned a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...
where he studied under the historian
George Mosse. His doctoral dissertation eventually became ''Universal Fascism: The Theory and Practice of the Fascist International, 1928–1936'', first published in 1972, which explored Italian leader
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
's efforts to create a Fascist international in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Ledeen taught at
Washington University in St. Louis but left after being denied tenure. Some faculty indicated that questions about the "quality of his scholarship" and about whether or not Ledeen had "used the work of somebody else without proper credit" were issues, although some also noted that "the 'quasi-irregularity' at issue didn't warrant the negative vote on tenure."
["Ledeen Seems To Relish Iran Insider's Role," Charles R. Babcock. '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''. Washington, D.C.: February 2, 1987. p. A1.
Ledeen subsequently moved to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, where he was hired as the Rome correspondent for ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
'' and was named a visiting professor at the
University of Rome for two years until 1977. In Rome, Ledeen worked with Italian historian
Renzo De Felice, who greatly influenced Ledeen, drawing a distinction between "fascism-regime" and "fascism-movement."
["Flirting with Fascism"]
, John Laughland, '' The American Conservative'', 30 June 2003. Ledeen's political views developed to stress "the urgency of combating centralized state power and the centrality of human freedom"
[A Theory](_blank)
Michael Ledeen, ''National Review Online'', March 10, 2003. Ledeen continued his studies in
Italian Fascism
Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...
with a study of the takeover of
Fiume by Italian
irredentist
Irredentism () is one state's desire to annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the population of the parent state. Hist ...
forces under
Gabriele d'Annunzio, who Ledeen argued was the prototype for Mussolini.
Billygate
In the 1980 lead up to the US presidential election, Ledeen, along with
Arnaud de Borchgrave, wrote a series of articles published in ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
'' and elsewhere about
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
's brother,
Billy Carter's contacts with the
Muammar al-Gaddafi regime in
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
. Ledeen testified before a Senate subcommittee that he believed that Billy Carter had met with and been paid off by
Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...
of the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
.
Five years later, in 1985, a ''Wall Street Journal'' investigation suggested that the series of
Billygate articles written by Ledeen were part of a larger
disinformation
Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic dece ...
campaign intended to influence the outcome of that year's presidential election. According to the reporting,
Francesco Pazienza, an officer of the Italian intelligence agency
SISMI, alleged that Ledeen was paid $120,000 for his work on Billygate and other projects. Pazienza and Ledeen were very active in disinformation efforts. At SISMI, Pazienza stated, Ledeen warranted a coded identification: Z-3. Pazienza was later tried and convicted ''in absentia'' for using "extortion and fraud to obtain embarrassing facts about Billy Carter".
Bulgarian connection theory
Ledeen worked for the Italian military intelligence agency
SISMI in 1980, providing "risk assessment"
and consulting on
extradition
In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...
matters between Italy and the United States.
[The War They Wanted, The Lies They Needed](_blank)
Craig Unger, '' Vanity Fair'', July 2006. During his time in Italy, Ledeen endorsed the "
Bulgarian connection"
conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
* ...
concerning
Grey Wolves member
Mehmet Ali Ağca's
1981 attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
. The theory has since been attacked by various authors and journalists, including ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' reporter
Michael Dobbs, who initially believed the story as well. The theory was adopted in 2005 by the
Italian Mitrokhin Commission. According to
Craig Unger, "With
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
newly installed in the White House, the so-called Bulgarian Connection made perfect
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
propaganda. Michael Ledeen was one of its most vocal proponents, promoting it on TV and in newspapers all over the world."
Work in the United States
In the early 1980s, Ledeen appeared before the newly established Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism alongside former CIA director
William Colby, author
Claire Sterling, and former ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' editor Arnaud de Borchgrave. Both Ledeen and de Borchgrave worked for the
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...
at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
at the time. All four testified that they believed the Soviet Union had provided material support, training and inspiration for various terrorist groupings.
Ledeen was involved in the
Iran–Contra affair as a consultant to
National Security Advisor Robert C. McFarlane. Ledeen met with Israeli prime minister
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
, officials of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and the CIA to arrange meetings with high-ranking Iranian officials, whereby Iranians supported by the US would be given weapons by Israel, and would proceed to negotiate with
Hizbollah for the release of hostages in Lebanon. Ledeen's own version of the events is published in his book, ''Perilous Statecraft''.
Ledeen vouched for Iranian intermediary
Manucher Ghorbanifar. According to
Adnan Khashoggi in 1985, Ghorbanifar was the head of
Iranian Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi's European intelligence and Ledeen was aware of this. In one interview after the scandal broke, Ledeen stated that he initially had "profound reservations" about Ghorbanifar, but that he proved himself to be reliable by opening a channel to Iranian leaders.
In another report in which he was described as "perhaps the only person on the US side of the affair to defend Ghorbanifar", he said that he considered Ghorbanifar to be a friend.
Yellowcake forgery allegations
During the summer of 2001, and others with France's
DGSE investigated an alleged deal known later as ''Nigergate'' in which Iraq was trying to obtain yellowcake from a country in Africa and, by May and June 2002, they were investigating any connection with
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
, but found that the rumors were entirely false.
Furthermore, in July 2002 the Italian SISMI and the United States
CIA were informed by the French DGSE that
Rocco Martino, a former Italian intelligence agent, was trying to pass fake documents about Iraq obtaining yellowcake from Niger.
[ However, the SISMI reported that a woman, controlled by SISMI's Antonio Nucera, presented the fake documents in July 2002 at the Niger embassy at Rome.][ Later, in March 2003 George Tenet incorrectly stated that Iraq, which had large quantities of yellowcake, was obtaining yellowcake from Niger.][
According to a September 2004 article by Joshua Micah Marshall, Laura Rozen, and Paul Glastris in '' Washington Monthly'': "The first meeting occurred in Rome in December, 2001. It included Franklin, Rhode, and another American, the neoconservative writer and operative Michael Ledeen, who organized the meeting. (According to UPI, Ledeen was then working for Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith as a consultant.) Also in attendance was Ghorbanifar and a number of other Iranians."
Colleagues Andrew McCarthy and Mark R. Levin have defended Ledeen, writing: "Up until now, the fiction recklessly spewed by disgruntled intelligence-community retirees and their media enablers—some of whom have conceded that the claim is based on zero evidence—has been that Michael had something to do with the forged Italian documents that, according to the Left's narrative, were the basis for President Bush's "lie" in the 2003 State of the Union Address that Saddam Hussein had obtained yellowcake uranium (for nuclear-weapons construction) in Africa."
]
Iraq War advocacy
During the 1990s, Ledeen was active in supporting the ousting of Saddam Hussein from Iraq. He was known as one of The Vulcans who also included John Bolton, Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and David Wurmser who signed "An Open Letter to the President" to lobby Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
to remove Hussein from office.
Regarding the "pre-emptive" invasion of Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, in 2002 Ledeen criticized the views of former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, writing:[, Michael Ledeen, National Review Online, August 6, 2002.]
Prior to the start of the Iraq war, Ledeen called it a "desperately needed and long overdue war against Saddam Hussein" and that there was a "dire need to invade Iraq". This caused Glenn Greenwald to condemn a later statement by Ledeen that he had "opposed the military invasion of Iraq before it took place" as an "outright lie". Ledeen maintained that his statements were nonetheless consistent, noting that "I opposed the military invasion of Iraq before it took place and I advocated—as I still do—support for political revolution in Iran as the logical and necessary first step in the war against the terror masters."
Views on Iran
Ledeen was a long-time foe of the Islamic regime of Iran. He believed that invading the country and regime change in Iran should have been the first priority in the " war on terror" in 2003 rather than Iraq. He believed that "everything traces back to Tehran" and that Iran manipulates both sides of the Shi'ite-Sunni conflict, leading reviewer Peter Beinart to note that his "effort to lay virtually every attack by Muslims against Americans at Tehran's feet takes him into rather bizarre territory."[Books on the Mideast]
By Peter Beinart. ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Published September 9, 2007. ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' describes Ledeen's views as "everything traces back to Tehran".[ Ledeen's phrase, "''faster, please''" has become a signature ]meme
A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...
in his writings (it was the title of his blog on the Pajamas Media website) and is often referenced by neoconservative writers advocating a more forceful and broader " war on terror." In 1979, Ledeen was one of the first Western writers to argue that Ayatollah
Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century.
Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...
Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...
was a " clerical fascist", and that while it was legitimate to criticize the Shah's regime, if Khomeini seized power in Iran the Iranian people would suffer an even greater loss of freedom and women would be deprived of political and social rights. He believed that "No one in the West has yet supported Iranian democratic organizations" and that "aggressive support for those Iranians who wish to be free" would most likely work in ending the clerical government.[Iran with the Bomb, or Bomb Iran: The Need for Regime Change]
Michael A. Ledeen. ''Encyclopædia Britannica
The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
Blog''. Published October 9, 2007.
According to Justin Raimondo, Ledeen "holds up Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
and Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...
as patsies for Khomeini—who supposedly believed that the Ayatollah overthrew Shah Reza Pahlavi because the Iranian government was 'excessively repressive and intolerant.' While it would not do to come right out and deny the savagery of the Shah's legendary SAVAK secret police, Ledeen informs us that, under the monarch's beneficent rule, 'Iran had become too modern, too tolerant—especially of women and of other religious faiths—and too self-indulgent. The shah had Westernized Iran'—except, perhaps, in his prisons, where the ancient methods of torture were routinely employed on dissidents of all sorts."
Ledeen was at the time of his death against both an invasion of Iran or air-strikes within the country.[ He argued that the latter may eventually become necessary if negotiations with the Iranian government fail, but it would only be the least bad option of many options and it would lead to many negative unforeseen consequences.][United States Policy toward Iran]
Michael A. Ledeen. American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...
. Posted March 8, 2006 ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called Ledeen's skepticism towards military action against Iran surprising given his opposition to the regime.[
In July 2016 Ledeen co-authored with Lt. General Michael T. Flynn, at the time ]Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's national-security adviser, '' The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies''. Flynn and Ledeen constructed a narrative in which the world was at war with a "great evil" and Iran was the central player on the enemy side.
Controversial theories
Ledeen also believed that Iran is the main backer of the insurgency
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric nature: small irregular forces ...
in Iraq and even supported the al-Qaida network formerly led by al-Zarqawi despite its declaration of jihad
''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
against Shi'ite Muslims.[Iran Connects the Dots]
, Michael Ledeen, National Review Online, June 9, 2006 He claimed that German and Italian court documents showed Zarqawi created a European terrorist network while based in Tehran.[
Ledeen was a board member of the "Coalition for Democracy in Iran" (CDI), founded by Morris Amitay, a former executive director of ]American Israel Public Affairs Committee
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the ...
(AIPAC). Ledeen had also been part of the board of the U.S. Committee for a Free Lebanon. According to ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', quoted by '' Asia Times'', he was the only full-time international affairs analyst regularly consulted by Karl Rove, George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
's closest advisor.
Following the February 2003 speech by French Minister for Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin at the United Nations General Assembly against the intervention in Iraq, Ledeen outlined, in a column entitled "A Theory," a possibility that France and Germany, both NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
allies of the United States, "struck a deal with radical Islam and with radical Arabs" to use "extremism and terrorism as the weapon of choice" to weaken the United States. He stated, "It sounds fanciful, to be sure," but that, "If this is correct, we will have to pursue the war against terror far beyond the boundaries of the Middle East, into the heart of Western Europe. And there, as in the Middle East, our greatest weapons are political: the demonstrated desire for freedom of the peoples of the countries that oppose us."
Jonah Goldberg, Ledeen's colleague at ''National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'', coined the term "Ledeen Doctrine" in a 2002 column. Goldberg recalled that his tongue-in-cheek expression had been summarized in one of Ledeen's early 1990s speeches as "Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business," as Goldberg remembered Ledeen saying in an early 1990s speech.
Ledeen also advocated that U.S. leaders take a stronger rhetorical stance in wars on Islamic regimes and militant groups. For instance, he recommended in public talks that U.S. leaders question or challenge defeated Islamic militaries or forces and even suggest the apparent failure of Allah to assure their victory.
Personal life
Ledeen was born in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California.
His first wife was Jenny Ledeen of St. Louis, Missouri.
At the time of his death, Ledeen was married to his second wife, Barbara, who was a longtime staffer for Senator Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2025, a role he also held from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Re ...
on the Senate Judiciary Committee
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...
until early 2021, when she retired from the Senate, and with whom he had three children: Simone, Gabriel, and Daniel. Simone has worked both in Iraq and Afghanistan for the Department of Defense; Gabriel is currently a lieutenant in the United States Marines Corps serving his second tour in Iraq; Daniel too is currently a lieutenant in the USMC.
Ledeen was an accomplished contract bridge
Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two Team game, competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each othe ...
player, having won one American Contract Bridge League national-level tournament, the 2009 Senior Swiss Teams, on a with Karen Allison, Lea Dupont and Benito Garozzo. He also partnered with Jimmy Cayne, who oversaw the collapse of Bear Stearns
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was an American investment bank, securities trading, and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 during the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. After its closure it was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chas ...
firm in 2007 and 2008. Consulted by a ''New York Times'' journalist early in the episode, Ledeen suggested that his book on the leadership lessons of Machiavelli had influenced Cayne, and observed that "Jimmy saw himself in Machiavelli ... you have to get rid of failure and you have to punish lack of virtue ruthlessly and all the time."
Ledeen died from complications of multiple strokes in Austin, Texas, on May 17, 2025, at the age of 83.
Missing Clinton emails
Barbara Ledeen sparked controversy in 2015 when she tried to launch her own investigation into Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
's emails while a staff member for Senator Chuck Grassley. The senator then served on the Judiciary Committee looking into Russian interference in the 2016 elections. According to FBI notes, Mrs. Ledeen requested the assistance of both a defense contractor and Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
, who asked Judicial Watch for financial assistance for her efforts.[ Judicial Watch requested another contractor to access the "deep web and dark web".][ One of Gingrich's closest aides, Peter W. Smith, had approached Matt Tate, a former British intelligence official, about the matter. Smith was also working with Michael Flynn, a confidant of Michael Ledeen. After Tate discovered that Smith was obtaining Clinton's emails independently of Barbara Ledeen's efforts, Grassley told her to stop her investigation.][
]
Project Veritas
To support Project Veritas in 2017 and 2018 while a staff member on the Senate Judiciary Committee led by Chuck Grassley, Barbara Ledeen was tasked with helping to discredit H.R. McMaster, who had stated that President Trump had the intelligence of a "kindergartner" and was an "idiot." She posted numerous comments on Facebook supporting Project Veritas—including "We owe a lot to Erik Prince" because of his efforts to support Project Veritas— as well disparaging posts about McMaster himself.[ Barbara Ledeen's involvement in the campaign to discredit McMaster led to her being named as a member of the Groundswell group; she admitted passing on information to Project Veritas but said "I am not part of a plot."]
Bibliography
* ''Universal Fascism; the Theory and Practice of the Fascist International, 1928–1936'', New York, H. Fertig, 1972
* co-written with Renzo De Felice: ''Fascism: An Informal Introduction To Its Theory And Practice'', New Brunswick, N.J. : Transaction Books, 1976 .
* "Renzo De Felice and the Controversy over Italian Fascism", pages 269–283 from ''Journal of Contemporary History'', Volume 11, 1976.
* ''The First Duce: D'Annunzio at Fiume'', Baltimore; London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977 .
* ''Italy In Crisis'', Beverly Hills alif. Sage publications, 1977 .
* co-written with George Mosse: ''Intervista sul Nazismo'', Rome-Bari, Laterza, 1977
* co-written with William Lewis: ''Debacle, The American Failure in Iran'', Vintage Books; 1st Vintage Books ed edition (1982)
* ''Grave New World'', New York: Oxford University Press, 1985 .
* ''West European Communism and American Foreign Policy'', New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.A.: Transaction Books, 1987 .
* ''Perilous Statecraft: An Insider's Account of the Iran-Contra Affair'', New York: Scribner, 1988 .
* ''Superpower Dilemmas: the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. at Century's End'', New Brunswick, U.S.A.: Transaction Publishers, 1992 .
* ''Freedom Betrayed: How America Led a Global Democratic Revolution, Won the Cold War, and Walked Away'', Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 1996 .
* ''Machiavelli on Modern Leadership: Why Machiavelli's Iron Rules Are As Timely and Important Today as Five Centuries Ago'', New York: Truman Talley Books/St. Martin's Press, 1999 .
* ''The War against The Terror Masters: Why It Happened, Where We Are Now, How We'll Win'', New York: St. Martin's Press, 2002 .
* ''The Iranian Time Bomb: The Mullah Zealots' Quest for Destruction''. Truman Talley Books, 2007. . .
* ''Obama's Betrayal of Israel,'' New York: Encounter Broadsides, 2010
* '' The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies'' co-written with Lt. General Michael T. Flynn, New York: St. Martin's Press, 2016 .
See also
*
* Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections (July 2016 – election day)
Notes
References
*
External links
Profile
at International Analyst Network
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledeen, Michael
1941 births
2025 deaths
American Jews
Historians of fascism
Iran–Contra affair
Writers from Los Angeles
University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
Washington University in St. Louis faculty
The American Spectator people
American conspiracy theorists
American contract bridge players
Neoconservatism
New Right (United States)
Members of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America