The Yale Johnson Center for the Study of American Diplomacy will host a special conversation with the Honorable David Cohen, former CIA Deputy Director, on “Intelligence, Espionage, and American Foreign Policy: The CIA From Obama to Trump.”

The event will be moderated by Ted Wittenstein, executive director of the Johnson Center.

Mr. Cohen is a partner in the Washington, DC office of WilmerHale and chair of the firm’s Financial and Business Integrity Practice. He is also a principal in WestExec Advisors, a geopolitical strategic consulting firm. Before rejoining WilmerHale in 2017, Mr. Cohen served for two years (2015-2017) as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, where he helped manage the agency’s operations, including foreign intelligence collection, all-source analysis, covert action, counter-intelligence and foreign liaison relationships. 

Previously, Mr. Cohen served for four years (2011-2015) as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, where he supervised the department’s policy, regulatory, enforcement and intelligence functions aimed at combating illicit finance, including money laundering and other financial crime, and disrupting financial support to nations, organizations and individuals posing a threat to national security. Early in the administration (2009-2011), Mr. Cohen served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing, overseeing policy development related to sanctions and money laundering. 

Before joining the Obama Administration in 2009, Mr. Cohen practiced law in Washington DC for nearly 20 years. He is a 1989 graduate of Yale Law School and the 1985 graduate of Cornell University.