FBI Special Agent in Charge Adam Lee during a press conference with U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen (Photo courtesy United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia)
In 2015, Odin-worshipping white supremacists planned to incite a race war, starting in Chesterfield County. Meeting just blocks from an African-American church, they planned to attack houses of worship and homes, but the men needed money, guns and explosives. It would all begin with the killing and robbery of a jewelry store proprietor.
The plot failed before it began, thanks to a quick intervention by the FBI’s Richmond field office under Adam S. Lee, the special agent in charge. It was just one of many threats, from ISIS recruits to public corruption, he confronted during the five years since former FBI Director James Comey — himself a former Richmond resident – selected him for the position. Lee rose to prominence in the FBI both for his investigation involving former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (whose 2014 conviction on federal corruption charges was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court) and as an agent reporting directly to Robert Mueller, Comey’s predecessor as FBI director, who now leads the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
After a decorated 22-year career, Lee is retiring, but he’s staying local. As of Dec. 1, Lee will be Dominion Energy’s chief security officer, tasked with countering cyber threats against one of the nation’s largest energy companies. Lee sat down with Richmond magazine to talk about his new job, his love for Richmond, and the FBI’s diminished public support as the bureau weathers accusations of bias from President Trump and his allies.
Richmond magazine: What do you bring to Dominion from your FBI experience? What threats do our utilities face?
Adam Lee: Many hostile nation-states and other threat actors seek to disrupt and cause injury to our nation's critical infrastructure. Without energy, our hospitals fail, our banking system fails, our schools fail, our food supply is harmed, and so forth. The FBI's mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. I see this new role with one of the nation's leading energy companies as a continuation of that mission and my service to the country.
RM: These are tough times for the FBI. What do you wish the general public knew about the bureau?
Lee: That, despite the headlines, the FBI is fiercely independent, and its culture is politically agnostic. I have served all over the nation and around the globe with the FBI for more than two decades, and I know the ethos of the organization. Our very, very few leaders who hoisted themselves with their own petards forgot that the field is the beating heart of the FBI. We as FBI agents stand on the shoulders of those who built the venerable FBI with 110 years of mission-focused professionalism. The FBI agents I have worked with do the right thing, in the right way, irrespective of the outcome of any investigation. I am so encouraged by the appointments of Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Director David Bowdich, also a "field guy" who served with me in San Diego [when we were] snipers on an FBI SWAT Team.
RM: What is the best on-screen portrayal of the bureau?
Lee: I think the movie from a few years ago, “Breach” — terrible story about the FBI agent turned Russian spy, Robert Hanssen. The atmosphere of the movie captured the feeling of working at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. I spent nearly a decade of my career in Washington, and there is a unique intensity working in that city, especially working in the intelligence community. It was very well done.
RM: Worst?
Lee: [The TV series] “Quantico.” By a mile.
RM: You’ve been in Richmond for five years. What’s kept you here?
Lee: This is an incredible community. Though it is my family's ancestral home, I had never even visited before being assigned here five years ago. My wife and I are crazy about Richmond, our church — Heights Church in West End — our neighbors, the rich history here, and, of course, Buz and Ned's. My wife and I grew up in California and have found there is an easy-going nature to the people in Central Virginia which is very similar to native Californians like us. This is our home, and I am blessed to serve the people of Richmond and Central Virginia.
RM: What will you miss most about the FBI?
Lee: Easy — the amazing people and the unparalleled mission.