Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Democracy

by Mike German

Overview

"A powerful argument against idealizing the F.B.I. and overlooking its troubling record for the sake of short-term political convenience."
—The New York Times Book Review

A former FBI undercover agent and whistleblower gives us a riveting and troubling account of the contemporary FBI—essential reading for our times

Impressively researched and eloquently argued, former special agent Mike German's Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide tells the story of the transformation of the FBI after the 9/11 attacks from a law enforcement agency, made famous by prosecuting organized crime and corruption in business and government, into arguably the most secretive domestic intelligence agency America has ever seen.

German shows how FBI leaders exploited the fear of terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11 to shed the legal constraints imposed on them in the 1970s in the wake of Hoover-era civil rights abuses. Empowered by the Patriot Act and new investigative guidelines, the bureau resurrected a discredited theory of terrorist "radicalization" and adopted a "disruption strategy" that targeted Muslims, foreigners, and communities of color, and tarred dissidents inside and outside the bureau as security threats, dividing American communities against one another. By prioritizing its national security missions over its law enforcement mission, the FBI undermined public confidence in justice and the rule of law. Its failure to include racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, and xenophobic violence committed by white nationalists within its counterterrorism mandate only increased the perception that the FBI was protecting the powerful at the expense of the powerless.

Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide is an engaging and unsettling contemporary history of the FBI and a bold call for reform, told by a longtime counterterrorism undercover agent who has become a widely admired whistleblower and a critic for civil liberties and accountable government.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620973790
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	09/10/2019
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	663,116
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Mike German is a fellow with the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice. He has worked at the ACLU and served sixteen years as an FBI Special Agent. He is the author of Thinking Like a Terrorist.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Lawless Law Enforcer 1

Part 1 Disruption

1 A "Culture of Arrogance" 23

2 A Lack of Internal Controls 43

3 Fear of Foreignness 65

4 Targeting Their Own 89

Part 2 Disrupting Diversity and Dissent

5 The Radicalization Theory 107

6 Disrupting Muslim Civil Society 131

7 Scapegoating Muslim American Communities 150

8 Criminalizing Black Identity 169

9 Targeting Innocent "Others" 190

Part 3 Disrupting Democratic Controls

10 The Watchdog That Didn't Bark-Ignoring Executive Abuse 217

11 White Nationalists and White Collars 235

Conclusion: What Then Must We Do? 254

Acknowledgments 271

Notes 273

Index 327

Editorial Reviews

07/01/2019

Former FBI special agent German’s impassioned polemic raises the alarm about the negative impact of the FBI’s evolution from a crime fighting organization into a domestic intelligence agency. Relating tales of interdepartmental dysfunction and infighting, reprisals against whistle blowers, and investigative overreach, German collects a searing set of eye-opening case studies that point to a decreasingly effective organization: “actual crime, violence, and credible threats to national security go unaddressed while FBI agents chase phantoms of potential future terrorists.” German’s experiences as an undercover agent provide a unique insight into the inner workings of the FBI, from the way agents are posted to offices to the requirement that all undercover work is done voluntarily. The FBI’s leadership is often a target of German’s criticism, particularly Robert Mueller III and James Comey, but his view of the bureau is not entirely negative. German peppers the narrative with the stories of unsung rank-and-file agents, including those of Gamal Abdel-Hafiz, the FBI’s first foreign-born Muslim agent, and Coleen Rowley, a Minneapolis field agent, who both questioned oversteps by their superiors. Bound to be divisive, German’s account is unlikely to convince readers who don’t agree with him that the FBI is on the wrong path, but it raises some valuable questions about the primary role of this key government agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Disrupt, Discredit, Divide:
"German's book is ultimately a powerful argument against idealizing the F.B.I. and overlooking its troubling record for the sake of short-term political convenience."
—Rosa Brooks, The New York Times Book Review

"The real story in Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide is German's methodical and damning account of a powerful American institution chronically failing to live up to its mission. The book comes at a critical moment."
—The Intercept

"A well-documented exposé explaining how 9/11 transformed the FBI. . . . Important reading for our current time, especially as the Mueller Report continues to circulate."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Former undercover FBI agent and whistleblower German argues the FBI is at the zenith of its powers, using concerns about national security and counterterrorism to target outsiders but failing to observe American guarantees of due process and free speech."

—Library Journal

"Former FBI special agent German's impassioned polemic raises the alarm about the negative impact of the FBI's evolution from a crime fighting organization into a domestic intelligence agency. . . . German's experiences as an undercover agent provide a unique insight into . . . [and raise] some valuable questions about the primary role of this key government agency."
—Publishers Weekly

"Mike German's critical insight into the initiatives taken up by the FBI in the aftermath of 9/11 is akin to none. His reputable expertise has time and time again provided my office with insight not only as a witness testifying before Congress, but also from an advisory position on legislative initiatives. Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide is the truth we need."
—Representative Karen Bass (CA-37), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus

"Few institutions have shaped recent American history as fundamentally as the FBI. As this fascinating and urgent book confirms, no one is more qualified than Mike German to tell this history and help us learn from it."
—Jameel Jaffer, director, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, and editor of The Drone Memos: Targeted Killing, Secrecy, and the Law

"Mike German is an amazing storyteller and writer who can make complex and intricate issues seem suddenly clear and comprehensible whilst losing none of their nuance. He is also a deeply principled man, [someone] whose ability to reflect on the actions of the agency he was a part of, as well as catching and stopping actual criminals, makes his a compelling voice in this ominous moment of resurgent white nationalism."
—Daniel Radcliffe, actor, Imperium (story by Mike German and Daniel Ragussis)

"Mike German served as an FBI agent who carried out dangerous assignments infiltrating violent white nationalist organizations. Now, having resigned, he tells how the bureau has downgraded such efforts. An absorbing and interesting read and a useful warning."
—Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr., author of Democracy in the Dark and chief counsel of the Church Committee

"Ex-FBI agent Mike German's excellent new book offers an exhaustively researched, definitive account of the current state of the country's preeminent law enforcement agency."
—Norm Stamper, former Seattle police chief and author of Breaking Rank and To Protect and Serve

"Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide is an insider’s glimpse into the bureau’s intelligence operations—an enlightening read for those invested in preserving civil liberties and individual privacy in an era of increasingly pervasive surveillance."
—Wendy Lee, NACDL Book Reviews

From the Publisher

★ 2019-05-27
A well-documented exposé explaining how 9/11 transformed the FBI into an agency "using its enhanced national security powers to silence whistleblowers, suppress minority communities, intimidate dissidents, and undermine democratic controls over its operations."

When he entered the agency in 1988, German (Thinking Like a Terrorist: Insights of a Former FBI Undercover Agent, 2007) found himself admiring many of his fellow agents. However, he gradually began to realize that the FBI top brass—including Robert Mueller and James Comey—presided over an organization rife with sexism, racism, xenophobia, and resistance to honorable agents who pointed out problems through the chain of command. After 9/11—which many believed could have been avoided if the FBI, CIA, and other entities had performed their jobs better—German watched as Islamophobia infected the FBI from the top down. He departed in 2004 but kept a close watch using his own knowledge and that of the whistleblowers still inside. In an unusual move for a former FBI agent, German joined the staff of the American Civil Liberties Union, where he gained a finely honed appreciation of how the FBI routinely violated the rights of Muslims, African Americans, Native Americans, and many other nonwhite citizens. The author developed an especially acute sense of how FBI leadership downplayed the widespread dangers of heavily armed white nationalists, many of whom took their cues from the domestic terrorists responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. In addition to developing his theme of misplaced priorities within federal and local law enforcement, German returns frequently to convincing evidence that foreign terrorists who orchestrated 9/11 would strike again inside the United States through a hidden network of sleeper cells. German bemoans the fact that by successfully spreading fear within a dysfunctional federal government—and ineffective FBI—terrorists ripped the fabric of American democracy, perhaps beyond repair. "The FBI," he writes, "cannot remain effective without public confidence in its work, and regaining this faith should be its top priority."

Important reading for our current time, especially as the Mueller Report continues to circulate.

Kirkus Reviews