Michael Joseph Morell (; born September 4, 1958) is an American former career intelligence analyst. He was the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2010 to 2013 and twice as its acting director, first in 2011 and then from 2012 to 2013. He is also a professor at the George Mason University - Schar School of Policy and Government.
As a CIA analyst he was presidential daily briefer to George W. Bush, including both "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US" for the President Only, August 6, 2001, President's Daily Brief and on the morning of September 11, 2001. In his book, The Great War of Our Time, Morell defends the use of drones by both the Bush and Obama administrations against suspected terrorists and he explains the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques (what many call torture) by the Bush administration. He is now senior counselor and the global chairman of the Geo-Political Risk Practice at Beacon Global Strategies LLC, a consulting firm in Washington, D.C.
Early life and education The son of an autoworker and homemaker, Morell is a native of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.Muravchik, Joshua (July/August 2015). "Inside the Battle". Review of Michael Morell, The Great War of Our Time: The CIA's Fight Against Terrorism—From al Qa'ida to ISIS. Commentary. p. 56 f. Retrieved via Book Review Index Plus database/InfoTrac, January 11, 2017. Preview online. He went to Saint Joseph's School and Cuyahoga Falls High School there. He is a first generation college student. He has a bachelor of arts from the University of Akron and a master of arts from Georgetown University, both in economics. He joined the CIA in 1980 and worked there for 33 years.
Career Most of Morell's early work in the agency was devoted to energy and to East Asian projects. During his mid-career, Morell managed the staff that produced the president's daily brief, and was the executive assistant to DCI George Tenet. Morell was President George W. Bush's daily intelligence briefer during 2001, including on September 11. Morell spent the entire day with the president. When asked by Bush who was responsible for the attacks that day, Morell said, "I have no doubt that the trail will lead to the doorstep of Bin Laden and al-Qa’ida."
Morell also was director for intelligence, the agency's top analyst, from 2008 to 2010. He was the CIA's associate deputy director, the agency's top administrator, from 2006 to 2008.
In May 2010, Morell was sworn in as the deputy director of the CIA, succeeding Stephen Kappes. Morell was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the agency's second highest honor, for his role in the bin Laden operation. President Obama, knowing that Morell was with President Bush on 9/11, sent Morell to Dallas to brief him on the raid two weeks after bin Laden was killed.
From July 1, 2011, to September 6, 2011, Morell did his first stint as acting director of the CIA, replacing Leon Panetta after he was confirmed as secretary of defense. On November 9, 2012, Morell once again became acting director after the resignation of David Petraeus, following a sex scandal. President Obama considered naming Morell as Patraeus's permanent replacement but chose John Brennan instead; Brennan was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a 63 to 34 vote on March 5, 2013. Morell announced his retirement from the CIA on June 12, 2013, and left the agency in early September 2013.
After retiring from government In November 2013, Morell joined Beacon Global Strategies as a senior counselor. In 2018, Beacon named Morell as the head of its geo-political risk practice. In this role, Morell advises firms on global developments and what they mean for the companies.
In January 2014, Morell joined CBS News as an on-air contributor on intelligence and national security. In 2018, CBS began producing Morell's weekly podcast on national security, titled Intelligence Matters. In each episode, Morell speaks with current and former members of the intelligence community as well as policymakers about their careers and about national security issues. Each episode is distributed as a podcast and an hour-long program on CBS News Radio. Morell also contributes to the media in other ways, as a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and as an expert voice on Axios.
Edward Snowden Morell has criticised whistleblower Edward Snowden for exposing NSA's global surveillance programs, claiming Snowden's exposé of the said programs led to profound damage. Morell said that a U.S. jury should decide whether Snowden was a patriot or a traitor.
Memoir In May 2015, Morell's book entitled The Great War of Our Time: The CIA's Fight Against Terrorism—From al Qa'ida to ISIS was released. A New York Times bestseller, the book traces his three-decade-long career at the CIA, with a focus on the agency's counterterrorism missions both before and after the September 11 attacks. The book deals with the public controversies related to the country's post-9/11 counterterrorism activities.Miller, Greg (May 3, 2015). "Former CIA official cites agency's failure to see al-Qaeda's rebound". Washington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2017. In the book, Morell defends targeted killings by drones,Capaccio, Tony; Walcott, John (May 4, 2015). "CIA Official Refused Role in Powell's Iraq Speech, Morell Writes". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 7, 2017. calling drone warfare the "single most effective [counterterrorism] tool in the last five years" and calling concerns over civilian deaths "highly exaggerated." In response to claims from Morell and others in the Obama administration about limited civilian casualties, drone strike survivors in Pakistan and Yemen in 2016 recounted how the bombings killed and maimed their friends and family members.
In the book, Morrell also criticized the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on CIA torture,Tapper, Jake (May 12, 2015). "Former CIA official takes aim at politicians". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2017. challenging the veracity of the report and objecting to the use of the word "torture," noting that the Department of Justice at the time said that the harsh techniques—which included mock drownings, sleep deprivation, and painful bodily contortions—were not torture, and were not in conflict with US domestic torture statutes and US treaty obligations on torture." "I don't like calling it torture for one simple reason: to call it torture says my guys were torturers," Morell told Vice in 2015. "I'm gonna defend my guys till my last breath," again noting that the Bush administration's Justice Department said it was not torture.
In response to his 2015 memoir, Senate Intelligence Committee staffers were so troubled by Morell's attacks on the committee's report that they issued a lengthy rebuttal. Referencing the CIA's own documents, the report said Morell's accounts of the CIA "enhanced interrogation" program contained numerous errors and misrepresentation of established facts. In talking about the staffers' rebuttal on The Charlie Rose Show, Morell said that, while his critique was sharper, it was consistent with the CIA's official comments on the committee's report and with the dissent published by a number of Republicans on the committee.
In a separate book written by a group of former CIA senior officials, Morell critiqued the media's coverage of the Senate report.
Apology to Colin Powell Also in his book, Morell apologized to former Secretary of State Colin Powell for the CIA's erroneous assessments of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs."Morell "wanted to apologize" to Powell about WMD evidence". CBS News. May 11, 2015.
Endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president In an August 2016 op-ed for The New York Times, Morell endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Stating that he was registered with neither the Democratic nor Republican parties and that he had always been silent about his political preferences, Morell stated that Donald Trump was "not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security." Morell left his job as a CBS News analyst before making the endorsement, but rejoined CBS News after the election. In a subsequent Q&A article with The New York Times, Morell responded to allegations that his current employer, Beacon Global Strategies, was co-founded by "former associates" of Hillary Clinton, by saying it was a non-partisan firm and that he had spoken out "entirely on [my] own, with no other consideration given any thought."
Chelsea Manning In September 2017, Morell resigned from his senior fellowship at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government as a result of Chelsea Manning's appointment as a senior fellow there.
China In 2017, Morell was appointed to serve on the National Defense Strategy Commission, a congressionally created body designed to give Congress an independent view of America's defense needs. The group's final report concluded that US defense capabilities were eroding relative to those of China and Russia.
Briefing book In early 2019, Morell, along with fellow former acting and deputy director of the CIA John E. McLaughlin, brought together a group of former CIA, NSA, and FBI officers to produce a briefing book on a dozen or so key national security issues facing the nation. Morell and McLaughlin provided the book to all candidates running for president, whether Democrat, Republican, or independent, and included President Trump's reelection campaign. The two told the press that the aim of the book was to provide a basis of fact and analysis as campaigns developed their foreign policy positions and as they debated the issues. The book did not advocate particular policies.
Khashoggi
In April 2019, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported that Morell, who had been consulting for a US firm that did work with Saudi Arabia, stepped down from that role following the killing of Saudi national, US resident, and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Ignatius wrote that Morell withdrew "over concern about the direction that Saudi Arabia was heading."
Spy Museum In 2019, the International Spy Museum unveiled a new interactive exhibit hosted by Morell. In the exhibit, Morell leads participants through a red-teaming exercise of the intelligence that pointed to Osama bin Laden hiding at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The exhibit is one of the museum's most popular.
Hunter Biden laptop In October 2020, Morell signed an open letter stating that the Biden laptop story “has the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation." Joe Biden cited the letter Morell had signed, during a presidential debate in 2020 to deflect criticism by Donald Trump. As of three years later, no evidence has emerged to support Morell's statement that the laptop appeared to be Russian disinformation.Broadwater, Luke. “Officials Who Cast Doubt on Hunter Biden Laptop Face Questions”, New York Times (May 16, 2023).Allen, Nick. “Antony Blinken ‘orchestrated plan to discredit Hunter Biden laptop story’”, The Daily Telegraph (21 April 2023).
In November 2022 CBS News published statements from the chief technology officer of Computer Forensics Services (from whom CBS commissioned analysis and investigation) declaring: "I have no doubt in my mind that this data was created by Hunter Biden, and that it came from a computer under Mr. Biden's control”. Morell has said that part of his motivation for signing the open letter, and requesting others to sign it, was to alert the American people of his concerns, and "to help vice president Biden….Because I wanted him to win the election". He said that contact from Biden's campaign adviser Antony Blinken triggered the letter he signed.
Criticism of Morell as a Biden cabinet pick