Bassem Youssef

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Mr. Youssef is the highest ranking Arab-American agent employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is currently a Unit Chief in the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. Prior to holding his current position, Mr. Youssef coordinated the national counterterrorism investigation into the Islamic Group (the organization responsible for the first World Trade Center bombing). He speaks fluent Arabic (the highest ranking FBI official with this skill).

In 1994, he earned the Intelligence Community’s prestigious and coveted award, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, awarded by the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). The award was for outstanding accomplishments in a terrorism case involving an al-Qaeda-related investigation.

After obtaining the DCI award, he was selected by the former FBI Director Louis Freeh to head of the FBI’s overseas office with responsibility for Saudi Arabia and the contiguous Gulf States, including UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain and Qatar. The FBI’s internal inspection of that office, conducted in 2000, highly praised Mr. Youssef’s performance. Inspection reports are kept confidential within the FBI, and are tasked with identifying problems in various programs.

In July, 2006 the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility concluded that the FBI illegally retaliated against Mr. Youssef because Mr. Youssef had made whistleblower disclosures to the Director of the FBI and a Member of Congress.