27 Facts About Michael Ledeen

Michael Arthur Ledeen is an American historian and neoconservative foreign policy analyst.

Michael Ledeen is a former consultant to the United States National Security Council, the United States Department of State, and the United States Department of Defense.

Michael Ledeen held the Freedom Scholar chair at the American Enterprise Institute where he was a scholar for twenty years and now holds the similarly named chair at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Michael Ledeen subsequently moved to Rome, where he was hired as the Rome correspondent for The New Republic and was named a visiting professor at the University of Rome for two years until 1977.

Michael Ledeen testified before a Senate subcommittee that he believed that Billy Carter had met with and been paid off by Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Five years later, in 1985, a Wall Street Journal investigation suggested that the series of Billygate articles written by Michael Ledeen were part of a larger disinformation campaign intended to influence the outcome of that year's presidential election.

At SISMI, Pazienza stated, Michael Ledeen warranted a coded identification: Z-3.

Michael Ledeen worked for the Italian military intelligence agency SISMI in 1980, providing "risk assessment" and consulting on extradition matters between Italy and the United States.

Michael Ledeen was one of its most vocal proponents, promoting it on TV and in newspapers all over the world.

Michael Ledeen met with Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, officials of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and the CIA to arrange meetings with high-ranking Iranian officials, whereby Iranians supported by the US would be given weapons by Israel, and would proceed to negotiate with Hizbollah for the release of hostages in Lebanon.

In one interview after the scandal broke, Michael Ledeen stated that he initially had "profound reservations" about Ghorbanifar, but that he proved himself to be reliable by opening a channel to Iranian leaders.

Michael Ledeen was known as one of The Vulcans who included John Bolton, Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and David Wurmser who signed an "An Open Letter to the President" to lobby Bill Clinton to remove Hussein from office.

Michael Ledeen is a long-time foe of the Islamic regime of Iran.

Michael Ledeen believed that invading the country and regime change in Iran should have been the first priority in the "war on terror" in 2003 rather than Iraq.

Michael Ledeen presently believes that "No one in the West has yet supported Iranian democratic organizations" and that "aggressive support for those Iranians who wish to be free" would most likely work in ending the clerical government.

Michael Ledeen is currently against both an invasion of Iran or air-strikes within the country.

Flynn and Michael Ledeen constructed a narrative in which the world is at war with a "great evil" and Iran is the central player on the enemy side.

Michael Ledeen believed that Iran is the main backer of the insurgency in Iraq and even supported the al-Qaida network formerly led by al-Zarqawi despite its declaration of jihad against Shi'ite Muslims.

Michael Ledeen claimed that German and Italian court documents showed Zarqawi created a European terrorist network while based in Tehran.

Michael Ledeen was a board member of the "Coalition for Democracy in Iran", founded by Morris Amitay, a former executive director of American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Michael Ledeen had been part of the board of the US Committee for a Free Lebanon.

Michael Ledeen has advocated that US leaders take a stronger rhetorical stance in wars on Islamic regimes and militant groups.

Michael Ledeen has won one American Contract Bridge League national-level tournament, the 2009 Senior Swiss Teams, on a team-of-four with Karen Allison, Lea Dupont and Benito Garozzo.

Michael Ledeen has partnered Jimmy Cayne, who was the oldest CEO on Wall Street when he oversaw the collapse of Bear Stearns firm in 2007 and 2008.

Michael Ledeen is married to his second wife, Barbara, who was a longtime staffer for Senator Chuck Grassley on the Senate Judiciary Committee until early 2021, when she retired from the Senate.

Barbara Michael Ledeen sparked controversy in 2015 when she tried to launch her own investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, while a staffer for Senator Chuck Grassley on the Senate Judiciary Committee which was looking into Trump's Russia issue.

Matt Tate, a former British intelligence official, was approached by Peter W Smith, an aid close to Gingrich and who was working with Michael Flynn who is a confidant of Barbara Ledeen's husband, who Tate said Smith was obtaining Clinton's emails independently of Barbara Ledeen's efforts which Grassley had told her to stop.