Outside His Area Of Expertise

Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker was interviewed on CNBC on Monday regarding the mass casualty event in Las Vegas. Swecker was the former number three person in the FBI and was probably called upon by CNBC's John Harwood because of that.

Listen to what he has to say about suppressors and semiautomatic rifles with ugly cosmetics.




Swecker said that civilians - that's you and me in his LEO-speak - have no need to own suppressors. He also said fully automatic weapons are illegal and that AR-15s are way too easy to convert to full auto. He wondered "what rational purpose is there for 10 different 'assault weapons' (sic) in the hands of one person."

One must wonder how someone with this level of ignorance rises to the level he did at the FBI. Fully automatic weapons are legal if made before the May 19, 1986 (Hughes Amendment) so long as they are registered under the NFA and the owner paid the tax and underwent the requisite background checks. Furthermore, ARs are not easy to convert to full auto unless you have a machine shop and the proper parts. Bumpfire is still not full auto no matter how fast you can dump a mag.

You also have to wonder where his law enforcement expertise lies. Was he a street guy infiltrating motorcycle gangs and fighting violent crime on the streets?

If his LinkedIn page is any indication, his law enforcement expertise lay in white collar crimes and especially financial and cyber crime. From his LinkedIn page where he lays out his expertise both in the FBI and in his subsequent career.

Experience

• 

  Attorney

  Company NameChris Swecker Attorney at Law

  Dates EmployedJan 2009 – Present

   

  Employment Duration8 yrs 10 mos

  LocationCharlotte, North Carolina Area

  General law practice with focus on criminal and civil litigation, D&O liability, contracts and regulatory matters, including false claims and whistleblower actions. Special emphasis on Dodd/Frank and Sarbanes/Oxley matters.
• 

  Consultant: Security, Financial Crimes, Cyber Crimes and Corporate Espionage

  Company NameChris Swecker Enterprises

  Dates EmployedDec 2008 – Present

   

  Employment Duration8 yrs 11 mos

  LocationCharlotte, North Carolina Area

  Independent Consutant on Enterprise Financial Crimes Strategies, Security, Cyber Crimes,Corporate Espionage, Regulatory Compliance and Control Measures for businesses and government.
• 

  Chairman

  Company NameGovernors Crime Commission

  Dates EmployedJul 2013 – Present

   

  Employment Duration4 yrs 4 mos

  LocationRaleigh NC

  Chairman of North Carolina Governor's Crime Commission.
• 

  Board of Directors

  Company NameAllied Barton Security Services

  Dates EmployedJan 2009 – Dec 2012

   

  Employment Duration4 yrs

  Former Member of Board of Directors of largest US owned Guard Security Company.
• 

  Corporate Security Executve

  Company NameBank of America

  Dates EmployedJul 2006 – Dec 2008

   

  Employment Duration2 yrs 6 mos

  Chief Security Officer for fraud investigations, physical security, due diligence investigations, employment screening, security technology,intelligence and executive protection.
• 

  Assistant Director Criminal Investigative Division

  Company NameFederal Bureau of Investigation

  Dates Employed1982 – Jul 2006

   

  Employment Duration24 yrs

  Responsible for all FBI criminal investigations wordwide.
• 

  Special Agent

  Company NameFBI

  Dates Employed1982 – 2006

   

  Employment Duration24 yrs

  LocationMiami, Houston, Washington DC, Oklahoma City, Charlotte

  organized crime, financial crimes, money laundering and general investigations.
• 

  Assistant District Attorney

  Company NameDistrict Attorney, First District of NC

  Dates Employed1981 – 1982

   

  Employment Duration1 yr

  LocationFirst District of North Carolina

  Prosecuted criminal cases in a 7 county judicial district in northeastern North Carolina.

 In my field it is unethical to practice outside the area of your competence. Given his entire career is and was devoted to white collar crime, financial irregularities, fraud, and the like, Swecker is outside the area of his competence when talking about firearms and violent crime. If he dealt with terrorism, it was regarding the funding of terrorism and not how to rescue someone being held hostage.

If I were to guess why CNBC called upon Chris Swecker to talk about the events in Las Vegas, it is because they knew of him from his role in investigating and prosecuting financial irregularities and thought they could parlay his old position as No. 3 at the FBI into something newsworthy.  In my opinion, they failed.