Michael Feinberg is a former FBI assistant special agent in charge known for his skills in stopping spying and terrorism. He worked for about 16 years at the FBI, rising through key offices and headquarters to help lead major investigations into Chinese spying. He won the FBI’s top Director’s Award for Excellence. Feinberg also writes for the Lawfare Institute and leads Justice Connection’s FBI Support Network. After leaving in mid-2025 during political controversy, he spoke out against changes in FBI leadership. He earned a law degree from Northwestern University in 2004 and is known for his conservative views.
Battling Beijing: A Counterintelligence Career
Michael Feinberg’s FBI career was focused on stopping Chinese spying. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, he helped lead investigations into operations linked to China. Notably, he was “the principal investigative architect” of the U.S. Justice Department’s indictment of Huawei Technologies, and his team helped to block China Mobile from U.S. markets. He also handled the case of a Zoom executive working with China’s public security ministry. Overall, Feinberg was involved in many of the Trump administration’s China Initiative cases. Justice Connection says Feinberg’s 16 years at the FBI focused on counterintelligence and counterterrorism, “leading some of the greatest successes of the first Trump Administration’s efforts against the People’s Republic of China’s intelligence services and their proxies.” His Lawfare profile confirms he spent the “overwhelming majority” of his FBI career fighting Chinese spying.
Despite handling highly secret threats, Feinberg received many honours. He won and was nominated several times for the FBI’s top award, the Director’s Award for Excellence, as well as other awards from the bureau and the intelligence community. Before joining the FBI in 2009, Feinberg worked as a lawyer. This legal experience, along with his FBI work, gave him a special understanding of intelligence and law enforcement.
Leadership in the Bureau
Feinberg steadily rose through the FBI’s national security branch. Early in his career, he worked in the Los Angeles Field Office and as a program manager and unit chief in the Counterintelligence Division at FBI headquarters. He then became a field supervisor for a counterintelligence team in the Washington, D.C., Field Office. By late 2019, he was transferred to the Norfolk (Virginia) Field Office, where he stayed for about 14 months. There, he managed local counterintelligence and counterterrorism programs, recruited sources, and analysed intelligence. In early 2021, Feinberg served for three months as Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Norfolk office during the first weeks of the current administration. After his predecessor was promoted, he oversaw all parts of the office’s operations.
After those months, Feinberg became one of Norfolk’s two permanent assistant special agents in charge, focusing on national security and intelligence programs. In an office of about 100 agents, he also served as the on-scene leader for tactical operations, including SWAT and the bomb squad, and managed daily personnel matters. This role made him a senior leader in a mid-sized field office, supervising dozens of employees and working with U.S. intelligence partners.
Even as a career FBI agent, Feinberg stayed strongly conservative. He was vice president of Northwestern Law’s Federalist Society chapter and earned his J.D. in 2004. He says he “generally leans right” and often mentions Edmund Burke in political talks. These views did not stop him from doing “apolitical” counterintelligence work. He says none of his cases was politically driven. Feinberg, trained in gymnastics and boxing, kept a disciplined physical presence, described by The Atlantic as “a careful use of movement”.
The May 2025 Turn
Feinberg’s FBI career ended suddenly on June 1, 2025. On May 31, he got a call from Norfolk’s Special Agent in Charge (Dominique Evans), acting on Dan Bongino’s orders, saying FBI leaders were worried about his personal connections. Feinberg said his only fault was a long friendship with fellow agent Peter Strzok (fired in 2018), who was on FBI Director Kash Patel’s so-called “enemies list”. Even though he was never accused of wrongdoing, Feinberg was told his promotions would be revoked and that he would be demoted and subjected to a lie detector test. He resigned within 24 hours because of his principles.
This well-known “purge” got national attention. Feinberg explained the event in his Lawfare essay, “Goodbye to All That” (July 3, 2025), and spoke with media outlets (The Atlantic, New Republic) about the politics affecting the FBI. Commentators pointed out he left five years before retirement and pension. He openly questioned the idea that agents cannot have private political ties, calling loyalty tests “very unusual”.
Since leaving government work, Feinberg has taken on new roles in public life. He became Director of the FBI Support Network at Justice Connection, a nonprofit that helps former Justice and FBI staff. In this role, he helps organise legal, mental health, and job support for colleagues leaving federal service. He also joined the Lawfare Institute as a Public Service Fellow (announced late 2025), writing opinion pieces and analysis on national security topics. In essays and interviews, he continues to warn that the FBI’s skills are being weakened by demands for political loyalty. His writings there build on the Goodbye to All That essay, arguing that the bureau’s focus has moved away from foreign threats like China toward politically driven domestic issues.
Feinberg earned multiple FBI honours, including the prestigious Director’s Award for Excellence. While FBI awards are rarely publicised beyond brief press releases, Lawfare (and his own resume snippets) confirm these honours. No public “lifetime achievement” awards or media prizes have been reported for him. His recognition mostly comes from the FBI internal awards. He maintains a reputation as a principled conservative who protected national security without political bias. Today he writes and speaks on policy, drawing on his FBI experience. His story illustrates the tensions between career expertise and political loyalty in a polarised era.
