About me

I'm currently the Director of the Combating Kleptocracy Program at the Human Rights Foundation, as well as a writer, analyst, and investigative journalist working on topics ranging from kleptocracy, illicit finance, dark money, foreign lobbying, and foreign interference to the legacies of Russian and Soviet colonialism. My new book—FOREIGN AGENTS: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World (St. Martin’s Press)—reveals the devastating scope and impact of the foreign lobbying industry in Washington. It investigates how American law firms, PR agencies, consultants, think tanks, universities, and more became foot-soldiers for despotic regimes around the world, threatening democracy both abroad and in the U.S.

Kirkus, which gave the book a starred review, says the book is “a timely exposé of American lobbyists who degrade democracy and weaken human rights. In the spirit of Progressive Era muckrakers, Michel reveals the shamelessness, venality, and moral turpitude of those who work to influence federal legislators and the public in order to advance antidemocratic foreign interests.” And according to Publisher’s Weekly, which also gave the book a starred review, FOREIGN AGENTS is a “masterful exposé” and a “hard-hitting takedown of a cynical industry.” Written by a “corruption expert” (Mother Jones) and an “expert on foreign lobbying and interference” (Lawfare), FOREIGN AGENTS is an “important and well-documented book” (Booklist)—as well as one of the “most anticipated books of 2024” and one of the “biggest foreign-policy book releases of 2024,” according to Foreign Policy.

The Economist said the book is “an eye-opening depiction of an industry that has largely defied efforts to keep it in check.” And as the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Casey Michel’s lively new book FOREIGN AGENTS unravels the incentives and temptations that have led so many leading American figures to lobby on behalf of foreign governments... On a deep and really quite disturbing level, this is a book about how much people are willing to pay to have the truth subverted for their benefit and how eagerly some people will do it for the right price."

My first book—AMERICAN KLEPTOCRACY: How the U.S. Created the World’s Greatest Money Laundering Scheme in History, out now from St. Martin’s Press—centers on America’s transformation into the world’s greatest offshore haven, and what that means for the rest of us. AMERICAN KLEPTOCRACY is one of the “best books to read to understand financial crime” (The Economist), “masterful” (Financial Times), “brilliantly clear” (The Atlantic), a “compact grenade of a book” (The Australian), and “make[s] the case that the world’s leading tax haven is America” (New York Review of Books).

I received my Master's degree in Russia, Eurasia and Eastern Europe Studies from Columbia University's Harriman Institute, and my writing has appeared in outlets like The New York Times, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, New York Magazine, Mother Jones, Vox, The New Republic, POLITICO Magazine, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, Just Security, Teen Vogue, Bellingcat, NBC, CNN, The Spectator, ThinkProgress, Quartz, The American Prospect, The American Interest, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), The Bulwark, openDemocracy, The Guardian, Texas Monthly, The National Review, World Politics Review, Al Jazeera, Slate, GEN, The Daily Beast, Roads & Kingdoms, Talking Points Memo, EurasiaNet, Houston Chronicle, Jamestown, Moscow Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Business Insider, among a host of other outlets.

I’m a former fellow with the Hudson Institute's Kleptocracy Initiative, where I helped co-host the award-winning “MAKING A KILLING” podcast on corruption and kleptocracy, as well as a member of RUSI’s Taskforce on a Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance. I’ve also testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on kleptocracy and oligarchs. You may have also seen, heard, or read me on CNN, BBC, NPR, MSNBC, Canal+, Deutsche Welle, Radio France Internationale, or in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, or The Economist. I have further conducted in-depth research on related topics with Chatham House and the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, and I recently served as a Senior Investigative/Global Magnitsky Fellow with the Human Rights Foundation.

And yes, I’m currently sanctioned by Russia.

I've also worked with International Crisis Group in Kyrgyzstan, Talking Points Memo, and Houston Press, and graduated from Rice University in 2010, where I both taught a course on Batman and served as Editor-in-Chief of the on-campus newspaper. A stint as the northernmost (male) Peace Corps Volunteer in the world—it’s plenty chilled along the Russia-Kazakhstan border—came after college, and Portland, Oregon, is the original home. I now spend as much free time as possible birding with the Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue.

Contact: casey.michel@gmail.com