Bill Priestap | |
---|---|
Born | Edward William Priestap |
Nationality | American |
Other names | E. W. Priestap |
Occupation(s) | Attorney, intelligence official |
Employer | Federal Bureau of Investigation |
Spouse | Sabina Menschel |
Relatives | Richard Menschel (father-in-law) Ronay A. Menschel (mother-in-law) Robert Menschel (uncle-in-law) |
Edward William Priestap[1], also known as Bill Priestap, is an American attorney and intelligence official. He was the assistant director of the FBI Counterintelligence Division from 2015 to 2018. In 2018, he warned both the United States House Committee on the Judiciary and the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary about the threats posed by Russia and China to American interests.
Education
Priestap earned master's degrees in business administration and education administration.[where?][2]
Career
Priestap joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1998, and he was appointed as assistant director of the FBI Counterintelligence Division in 2015.[2][3]
In June 2017, Priestap told the PBS NewsHour program that Russian intelligence "used fake news and propaganda and they also used online amplifiers to spread the information to as many people as possible" during the 2016 United States presidential election.[4]
In the Nunes memo, released in February 2018, Priestap suggests the Trump–Russia dossier had not been completely investigated prior to their application for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to surveil Carter Page, former foreign policy adviser in Donald Trump's 2016 Presidential campaign.[5][6]
Priestap left the FBI in December 2018.[7][8] Shortly before leaving, he warned the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary about the threat of China to American interests.[9]
In April 2019, Republic Congressman Doug Collins released the full transcript of Priestap's June 2018 interview with the United States House Committee on the Judiciary.[10]
Personal life
Priestap is married to Sabina Menschel, the current head of the Washington, D.C., office of Nardello & Co, a detective agency.[11] Menschel's father, Richard Menschel, is a Goldman Sachs investment banker, philanthropist and Democratic donor, as is her uncle Robert Menschel.[11] His mother-in-law, Ronay A. Menschel, was a Democratic deputy mayor of New York City under Ed Koch.
See also
References
- ^ "Prosecutors rest in Hamas case". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Bill Priestap". CNBC. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
- ^ Blinde, Loren (December 23, 2015). "E.W. Priestap named assistant director of the FBI counterintelligence division". Intelligence Community News. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
- ^ Lardner, Richard; Riechmann, Deb (June 21, 2017). "Intel officials detail how Russian cyberattacks sought to interfere with U.S. elections". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
- ^ Barrett, Devlin; Demirjian, Karoun; Rucker, Philip (February 2, 2018). "Memo released, and recriminations fly". The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
- ^ Sheth, Sonam (February 2, 2018). "House Intelligence Committee releases controversial Nunes memo after Trump authorizes its declassification". Business Insider Singapore. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
- ^ Tau, Byron (December 4, 2018). "Another High-Ranking FBI Official to Depart". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ^ Burke, Michael (December 4, 2018). "Top FBI official Bill Priestap to retire". The Hill. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ^ Nakashima, Ellen (December 12, 2018). "Top FBI official warns of strategic threat from China through economic and other forms of espionage". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ^ Sugarman, Lev (April 2, 2019). "Document: Transcript of Bill Priestap Interview with House Judiciary Committee". Lawfare. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ^ a b Friday, Frank (December 16, 2017). "How husbands and wives figure in the latest government scandal revelations". The American Thinker. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
External links