Soulcatcher

The Institute of World Politics

About the Lecture: James Lawler’s talk, titled “Soulcatcher,” delves into the complex and often disturbing motivations that drive ordinary people to commit espionage. Drawing from his extensive 25-year career as a senior CIA case officer, during which he earned prestigious honors such as the Donovan Award, the CIA Director’s Award, the HUMINT Collector of the Year Award, and the Trailblazer Award, Mr. Lawler provides a vivid, hard-hitting account of the realities of intelligence work. Through real-life examples, he reveals the psychological and emotional triggers that lead individuals to betray their countries, and discusses the crucial role that recruiting these intelligence sources plays in safeguarding the national security of the U.S. and its allies. While maintaining the unclassified nature of his presentation by omitting specific details like the time, place, and nationality of the spies he recruited, Mr. Lawler offers valuable insights into the methods he used to convince these individuals to cooperate. He also touches on his role in the takedown of the A.Q. Khan nuclear weapons network, one of the most significant intelligence operations in modern history. Though he must avoid many of the sensitive aspects of this operation, he speaks in general terms about the challenges and successes of disrupting this dangerous network, which involved Pakistan and Libya. Having delivered this talk twice at Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies to great acclaim, Mr. Lawler believes it would be equally compelling and appropriate for an audience at IWP. About the Speaker: James Lawler is a national security consultant and Senior Partner at MDO Group, where he provides HUMINT training to the Intelligence Community and the commercial sector, with a focus on WMD, counterintelligence, technical, and cyber issues. A noted speaker on insider threats in government and industry, he has appeared on numerous national podcasts. Mr. Lawler served as a CIA operations officer for 25 years, with five overseas assignments from 1982 to 1994, and later as Chief of the Counterproliferation Division’s Special Activities Unit. A member of the CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service (SIS-3) from 1998 until his retirement in 2005, he specialized in recruiting foreign spies, dedicating much of his career to combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. As Chief of the A.Q. Khan Nuclear Takedown Team, Mr. Lawler led the effort to dismantle the most dangerous nuclear weapons network in history. His leadership earned him the CIA’s Trailblazer Award in 2007, and high praise from former DCI George Tenet, who stated, “What you and your team have achieved will rank up there as one of the most spectacular intelligence accomplishments in the history of the CIA.” Former DDCI John McLaughlin called it “the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a perfect intelligence operation.” Mr. Lawler also received the Director’s Award, the U.S. Intelligence Community’s HUMINT Collector of the Year Award, and the Donovan Award. Before joining the CIA, he practiced law and served as president of a steel components company in Texas. A graduate of Rice University and the University of Texas School of Law, Mr. Lawler is also an accomplished author, with two CIA-cleared espionage novels, *Living Lies* and *In the Twinkling of an Eye*. He is currently working on his third novel, *The Traitor’s Tale*. Mr. Lawler is married with three children and seven grandsons.