[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1247-S1248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO ALAN KOHLER

  Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I rise today in recognition of the 
retirement of Alan Kohler.
  Alan leaves the FBI as Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence 
Division, a challenging post he has held since 2020. Over his long and 
impressive career with the FBI, Alan has continuously worked on our 
most pressing national security issues. It is a career that has truly 
lived up to the FBI's

[[Page S1248]]

motto of ``Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity.''
  As part of its history, the Senate Intelligence Committee has worked 
to ensure the intelligence community works seamlessly across its many 
Agencies and with our allies to protect Americans. That is a goal Alan 
Kohler committed his life's work to, whether he was serving overseas as 
legal attache in the United Kingdom to coordinate efforts with our 
closest ally or developing new means of integrating and cooperating 
across Agencies like the Counterintelligence Task Force he established 
during his time as Assistant Director, his accomplishments have 
inspired junior agents and personnel to break through Agency stovepipes 
in defense of our Nation.
  Alan's faithful service to the Bureau spanned three decades, through 
some of our Nation's darkest days. He joined the FBI in 1996 and was 
assigned to work counterintelligence cases in the Washington field 
office, right in the wake of and in the midst of some of the most 
damaging espionage cases the U.S. has faced. In the days after the 
attacks on September 11, Alan bravely served on the evidence recovery 
team at the Pentagon in Arlington, VA.
  After transferring to the New York field office in 2006, Alan Kohler 
worked cases that led to the arrest of 10 Russian illegals in 2010, 
earning the Attorney General Award for Exceptional Service and changing 
the way Americans understood the intelligence activities of our 
adversaries. He was also fortunate enough to be assigned as assistant 
special agent in charge of the Norfolk field office where he was 
responsible for all of the FBI's counterintelligence, counterterrorism, 
and crisis management programs for that community.
  In 2017, after Russia's unprecedented interference in our elections, 
Alan established the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, an entity we 
on the Senate Intelligence Committee continue to rely on to collect on 
and report threats to the very foundation of our democracy.
  As chairman of the Intelligence Committee, I have relied on Alan's 
integrity to provide the committee with honest and timely information, 
even when it was not easy for him to do. He consistently demonstrated 
professionalism in all our engagements and modeled a constructive 
relationship between the executive and legislative branches. It was a 
professionalism born of his commitment to safeguard our Nation. I am 
certain Alan will find ways to continue to serve as he enjoys his very 
well-earned retirement. I would also like to recognize his family who 
has supported him throughout his tremendous career.

                          ____________________