John Adams

Assistant Director of Directorate of Intelligence

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

FBI Director James B. Comey appointed John S. Adams Assistant Director of Directorate of Intelligence, effective August 2016
Mr. Adams entered on duty as a Special Agent with the FBI in 1997. Upon graduating from the FBI Academy, Mr. Adams was assigned to the Washington Field Office, where he enjoyed a varied career investigating cases related to espionage, drug trafficking, violent crime, and terrorism.
Mr. Adams has extensive experience investigating terrorist bombings overseas, to include the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya; the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Aden, Yemen; and the 2003 bombings of three residential compounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Mr. Adams led the crime scene investigation and evidence recovery at the Pentagon.
In 2004, Mr. Adams transferred to FBI Headquarters (FBIHQ) to serve as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Counterterrorism Division’s (CTD’s) International Terrorism Section, where he managed ongoing terrorism.
In 2006, Mr. Adams was assigned to the Knoxville Field Officer, where he led the Joint Terrorism Task Force and later led the Intelligence Program.
In May 2011, Mr. Adams was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the National Security Branch of the Richmond Field Office.
In October 2012, Mr. Adams entered the Senior Executive Service as Section Chief in CTD at FBIHQ, where he was responsible for Strategic Operations, fostering the integration of intelligence and operations for improved targeting.
In January 2014, Director Comey appointed Mr. Adams as Deputy Assistant Director in CTD, where he led the Strategic Operations and Intelligence Analysis Branch.
In December 2014, Director Comey appointed Mr. Adams as Special Agent in Charge of the Norfolk Field Office.
Before entering the FBI, Mr. Adams served as a Special Agent of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Mr. Adams obtained a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from East Tennessee State University and completed post-graduate coursework in Forensic Anthropology at the University of Tennessee.

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