# David MacMichael > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/David_MacMichael > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/David_MacMichael.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_MacMichael > Source revision: 1317638389 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **David Charles MacMichael** (June 6, 1926 – May 16, 2022) was a [contract employee](/source/Independent_contractor) of the [Central Intelligence Agency](/source/Central_Intelligence_Agency) (CIA) who served two years as an [analyst](/source/Intelligence_analysis).[1][2] A ten-year veteran of the [U.S. Marine Corps](/source/U.S._Marine_Corps), he was a counter-insurgency expert in South-East Asia for four years.[3] He also served as an analyst for the [National Intelligence Council](/source/National_Intelligence_Council) from 1981 to 1983. ## Early life and education MacMichael was born in [Albany, New York](/source/Albany,_New_York) in 1926. He graduated with an [MA](/source/Master_of_Arts) and [Ph.D.](/source/Ph.D.) in History from the [University of Oregon](/source/University_of_Oregon).[4] ## Career MacMichael reportedly resigned from the CIA in July 1983 because he felt the Agency was misrepresenting intelligence for political reasons.[5][a] His public resignation from the Agency gave credence and notability to his vocal indictment of the [Reagan Administration](/source/Reagan_Administration)'s policy toward [Central America](/source/Central_America).[6] He was considered the "key witness" in [Nicaragua v. United States](/source/Nicaragua_v._United_States). The case was heard in 1986 before the [International Court of Justice](/source/International_Court_of_Justice), which ruled that the United States had violated international law by supporting the [Contras](/source/Contras) in their war against the Nicaraguan government and by mining Nicaragua's harbors. MacMichael also testified in front of Congress on this matter.[7] A former investigator for the [Christic Institute](/source/Christic_Institute), he was an outspoken critic of the Institute's reliance on [conspiracy theory](/source/Conspiracy_theory), arguing that the Institute "was eager, perhaps overeager, to demonstrate that this enterprise was responsible for everything since Cain slaying Abel."[8] In July 2005, he testified at a special joint hearing of Congressional and Senate Democrats about the consequences of the [Plame affair](/source/Plame_affair). MacMichael was a founding member of [Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity](/source/Veteran_Intelligence_Professionals_for_Sanity) (VIPS),[4] as well as its predecessor [Association of National Security Alumni](/source/Association_of_National_Security_Alumni) and the [Association for Responsible Dissent](/source/Association_for_Responsible_Dissent),[9] and an outspoken critic of the [Iraq War](/source/Iraq_War) and the Bush Administration. He has participated in six [documentary films](/source/Documentary_film) from 1988 to 2003.[10] Journalist [John Pilger](/source/John_Pilger) has described him as a "CIA renegade."[11] In August 2014 he was among the signatories of an open letter by the group [Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity](/source/Veteran_Intelligence_Professionals_for_Sanity) to German chancellor [Angela Merkel](/source/Angela_Merkel) in which they urged the Chancellor to be suspicious of U.S. intelligence regarding the alleged invasion of Russia in Eastern Ukraine.[12] In September 2015 MacMichael and 27 other members of VIPS steering group wrote a letter to the President challenging a recently published book, that claimed to rebut the report of the [United States](/source/United_States) [Senate Intelligence Committee](/source/United_States_Senate_Intelligence_Committee) on the [Central Intelligence Agency](/source/Central_Intelligence_Agency)'s use of torture.[13] MacMichael died on May 16, 2022, at his home in [Front Royal, Virginia](/source/Front_Royal,_Virginia), at the age of 95.[4] ## See also - [Nicaragua vs. United States](/source/Nicaragua_vs._United_States#Second_witness:_Dr._David_MacMichael) Details MacMichael testimony at the trial. ## Notes 1. In a letter to a representative of the Department of Minnesota Veteran of Foreign Wars dated November 21, 1986, the CIA's Information and Privacy Coordinator stated: "We can advise you that David MacMichael has been officially acknowledged to have been a contract employee--as distinguished from a regular employee--of this agency whose employment was concluded at the end of a two year contract."[2] ## References 1. Shaw, Terri (September 8, 1985). ["Americans to Testify Against U.S. in Nicaraguan World Court Case"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/09/08/americans-to-testify-against-us-in-nicaraguan-world-court-case/33a4de99-a528-4770-8fcf-55eb03211532/). *The Washington Post*. Retrieved June 10, 2020. 1. ["LETTER TO(SANITIZED) FROM(SANITIZED)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170123203829/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp89g00643r001000080007-1). Information and Privacy Coordinator, Central Intelligence Agency. November 21, 1986. Archived from [the original](https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp89g00643r001000080007-1) on January 23, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2020. 1. Jonathan Steele, "The CIA man who turned to the Nicaraguans / Profile of David MacMichael," *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)* (9 January 1985). 1. Risen, Clay (June 1, 2022). ["David C. MacMichael, C.I.A. Whistleblower, Dies at 95"](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/01/us/politics/david-c-macmichael-dead.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved June 1, 2022. 1. Philip Taubman, "In from the Cold and Hot for Truth," *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* (11 June 1984) p. B6. 1. See Philip Taubman, "In from the Cold and Hot for Truth," *The New York Times* (11 June 1984) p. B6; "Moynihan: data lacking on Nicaragua arms traffic," *[The Christian Science Monitor](/source/The_Christian_Science_Monitor)* (14 June 1984) p. 2; "Nicaragua, Pro and Contra" *The New York Times* (18 June 1984) p. A18; Joan Edwards, "Reagan's charges 'total untruths,' ex-CIA man says," *[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)* (29 June 1984). 1. Shirley Christian, "Nicaragua's American Lawyers Prepare Case," *The New York Times* (8 September 1985) p.23; Associated Press, "Ex-CIA Aide Testifies in [The Hague](/source/The_Hague)," *The New York Times* (14 September 1985) p. 3. 1. Barringer, Felicity (March 17, 1989). ["THE LAW; Giving Law Teeth (and Using Them on Lawyers)"](https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/17/us/the-law-giving-law-teeth-and-using-them-on-lawyers.html). *The New York Times*. p. B4. Retrieved October 26, 2015. 1. "Ex-CIA spies set up group fighting to ban [covert action](/source/Covert_operation)" *[Toronto Star](/source/Toronto_Star)* (27 November 1987) p. A3. 1. ["David MacMichael"](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533984/). *[IMDb](/source/IMDb)* 1. John Pilger, "Having a fun time in New Orleans: the latest recruits (sorry, 'alumni') of latter-day [Reaganism](/source/Reaganism)," *[New Statesman](/source/New_Statesman)* (13 November 1998). 1. [The State Department Says Russia Is Invading Ukraine—Should We Believe It?](http://www.thenation.com/article/181437/state-department-says-russia-invading-ukraine-should-we-believe-them), *[The Nation](/source/The_Nation)*, September 2, 2014 1. Andy Worthington (2015-09-15). ["28 Veterans of US Intelligence Fight Back Against CIA Claims That the Bush Torture Program Was Useful and Necessary"](http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2015/09/27/28-veterans-of-us-intelligence-fight-back-against-cia-claims-that-the-bush-torture-program-was-useful-and-necessary/). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060211/http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2015/09/27/28-veterans-of-us-intelligence-fight-back-against-cia-claims-that-the-bush-torture-program-was-useful-and-necessary/) 2015-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David MacMichael](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_MacMichael) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_MacMichael?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.