Marc Thiessen Biography
Marc Thiessen is an American author, political appointee and columnist working for FOX NEWS as a contributor. He joined the FOX NEWS news team after previously working for the George W. Bush administration.
Marc Thiessen Career
Thiessen graduated from the Taft School in 1985, a private preparatory school located in Watertown, Connecticut. In 1989, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vassar College. Additionally, he completed graduate studies at the Naval War College. After completing college, he relocated to Washington, D.C., and has been actively involved in various roles. Initially, he worked at the lobbying firm Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly (BMSK) from 1989 to 1993. Notably, two of the founders and name partners of BMSK, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, faced legal issues during the Trump administration and were later pardoned by Trump. From 1995 to 2001, he served on Capitol Hill as the spokesman and senior policy advisor to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-NC).
He then joined the George W. Bush administration in 2001 as the Chief Speechwriter for Donald Rumsfeld, later becoming a part of Bush’s speechwriting team in 2004. In February 2008, he assumed the role of chief speechwriter following William McGurn’s resignation. In March 2009, he, along with Peter Schweizer, co-founded the communications firm Oval Office Writers LLC. Since 2009, he has been a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Starting from March 2010, he has been a columnist for The Washington Post. Here, he used his columns to criticize the Obama administration and express opposition to the Iran nuclear deal. In 2020, he defended President Donald Trump’s decision to assassinate Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
Additionally, he described it as “defensive, preemptive, and lawful.” Furthermore, he serves as a commentator for Fox News. His initial book, “Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack,” was published by Regnery Publishing in January 2010. In this work, he argued that the CIA’s systematic use of enhanced interrogation techniques was effective, lawful, and moral. The book received endorsements from former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and former Attorney General Michael Mukasey. It achieved the No. 9 spot on the New York Times Best Sellers list for hardcover nonfiction in February 2010. However, Jane Mayer, the author of “The Dark Side,” heavily criticized “Courting Disaster.”
In her New Yorker book review, Mayer contended that Thiessen’s book was “based on a series of slipshod premises” and was “better at conveying fear than at relaying the facts.” She challenged his claim that Al-Qaeda had not succeeded in launching an attack on the homeland or American interests abroad since the CIA began interrogating captured terrorists. In addition to that, she also pointed out that Al-Qaeda had indeed carried out multiple attacks targeting Americans during that period. Mayer also criticized the Obama administration for not convening a commission on the Bush administration’s torture practices. Which in turn allowed Thiessen and other proponents of torture to potentially distort historical facts.
The Senate Intelligence Committee’s 6,700-page report on CIA torture contradicted Thiessen’s arguments, concluding that the CIA’s enhanced interrogation program was not an effective method for gathering intelligence. The report was approved with seven Democrats, one Independent, and one Republican voting in favor, while six Republicans voted against it. A former military interrogator, writing under a pseudonym and author of “How to Break a Terrorist,” characterized Thiessen’s book as “a literary defense of war criminals” and criticized him for relying solely on the opinions of CIA interrogators.
Marc Thiessen Salary
Thiessen earns an annual salary of about $47,000-$120,000.
Marc Thiessen Net Worth
Thiessen has an estimated net worth of about $1 Million – $7 Million which he has earned through his career as a contributor.
Marc Thiessen Age
Thiessen was born on January 13, 1967, in United States. He is 57 years old as of 2024, and he celebrates his birthday on the 13th of January every year.
Marc Thiessen Height and Weight
Thiessen stands at a height of 5 feet 11 inches tall however, information about his weight has not been disclosed.
Marc Thiessen Family
Thiessen’s parents are both doctors, his mother is called Janina Januszowska however, information about his father and siblings has not been disclosed.
Marc Thiessen Wife and Children
Thiessen is married to Pamela who the Staff Director of the United States Senate Republican Policy Committee. Together they have been blessed with four children, three sons and a daughter. He resides in Alexandria, Virginia together with his family.
Marc Thiessen FOX NEWS
While working for FOX NEWS Thiessen co-works alongside:
Social Media Platform
Thiessen is very active on his Twitter and Instagram pages. He has 61.1k followers on Twitter and 184+ followers on Instagram.