Charles Sam Faddis

{{Short description|American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations officer, political operative}}

Charles “Sam” Faddis is a retired American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations officer, author, political operative, and conspiracy theorist.{{cite news |last=Griswold |first=Eliza|author-link=Eliza Griswold |title=How Election Subversion Went Mainstream in Pennsylvania? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/11/07/how-election-subversion-went-mainstream-in-pennsylvania|magazine=The New Yorker |date=October 31, 2022 }}

Early life and education

Faddis graduated from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland School of Law.{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=Jack |date=2017-09-07 |title=Former CIA Officer Sam Faddis running for Senate in Maryland |url=https://sofrep.com/news/former-cia-officer-sam-faddis-running-senate-maryland/ |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=SOFREP |language=en}}

Service in the Military

Faddis is a Captain (retired) and served US Army Armor Branch and Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) officer.{{Cite web |date=2015-06-30 |title=Ex-CIA Counterterrorism Officer Challenges Dem Stalwart Steny Hoyer for Maryland's 5th District - HS Today |url=https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/border-security/ex-cia-counterterrorism-officer-challenges-dem-stalwart-steny-hoyer-for-maryland-s-5th-district/ |access-date=2023-10-12 |language=en-US}}

Service in the CIA

Faddis claims to have led the first CIA team into Iraq nine months in advance of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He then served as head of the CIA's Counter Terrorism Center (CTC)’s Weapons of Mass Destruction unit.{{Cite journal |last=P. |first=Matt |date=June 2010 |title=Intelligence in Public Literature: Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA523647.pdf |journal=Studies in Intelligence |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=1–4}}

Authorship and media analysis

Sam Faddis has authored numerous books on intelligence and the 2003 Iraq War. He is the author of Beyond Repair: The Decline And Fall Of The CIA and Willful Neglect: The Dangerous Illusion Of Homeland Security. He co-wrote Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq. Faddis' work has been questioned as having relied too heavily on self-research and scant citations in the bibliographies.

A regular commentator on conservative media, Sam Faddis often shares support for conspiracy theories Faddis first appeared on Fox News about the 2012 Benghazi Attack{{Cite web |last=Herridge |first=Catherine |date=2015-03-24 |title=Report sheds light on ex-CIA deputy director's role in Benghazi talking points |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/report-sheds-light-on-ex-cia-deputy-directors-role-in-benghazi-talking-points |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}} and China.{{Cite web |date=2022-08-05 |title=Pelosi provoked 'potentially catastrophic' response from China: Former CIA officer {{!}} Fox News Video |url=https://www.foxnews.com/video/6310469051112 |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}} Faddis is a regular on Steve Bannon's War Room.{{Cite news |last=Homans |first=Charles |date=2023-01-24 |title=Will the Real G.O.P. Please Stand Up? A National Power Struggle Goes Local. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/us/politics/republicans-trump-pennsylvania.html |access-date=2023-10-12 |issn=0362-4331}}

Conspiracy theorist

After Faddis retired from the CIA, he published And Magazine, a news and conspiracy newsletter. He is a political operative and former US Senate Candidate in Maryland, now organizing statewide coalitions in Pennsylvania to spread disinformation about 2020 election conspiracies.{{Cite web |title=Candidates running for key Pa. election posts wrongly believe 2020 presidential race was stolen |url=https://whyy.org/articles/pennsylvania-2023-candidates-election-deniers/ |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=WHYY |language=en-US}} Faddis organizes a coalition of self-described Patriot groups in Pennsylvania.