03 Nov 2025

Christina Mesesan is Policing the Police

When I have to hide that I don't believe what I'm saying, maybe now it's time for me to take the step and leave.

Growing up, Christina Mesesan always knew she wanted to help people; she just wasn’t sure what that would look like. In the years following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and driven by the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report, Christina heeded the call to public service with the goal of integrating the FBI's national security workforce. During Christina's first assignment as an Intelligence Analyst at the FBI's New York Field Office, Christina leveraged her Masters degree in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall to advance counterintelligence investigations, while also using her Romanian language skills to support the FBI’s organized crime investigations.

Operation Ghost Stories: In June 2010, Christina’s intelligence work—along with the work of many special agents, intelligence analysts, linguists and professional staff—resulted in the disruption and arrest of ten Russian sleeper agents in the United States. Much to Christina’s dismay, she learned that one of her classmates from Seton Hall had been part of the spy ring and named publicly.

Throughout her years with the FBI, Christina saw the intelligence cadre slowly gain a seat at the table with decision-makers, just as the 9/11 Commission had hoped. In the early years of 45's first administration, the FBI’s intelligence program gradually started losing that seat. Although the FBI seemed to consider allowing intelligence personnel more growth and promotion opportunities, executives kept adding more requirements and more check boxes, while the favoritism and blue flame of the “good old boy network" of special agents bled over to promotion decisions in the intelligence program.

After bearing witness to former FBI Director Comey's unceremonious firing during his visit to the Los Angeles Field Office in 2017, Christina was disheartened and losing steam. In 2021, she left her work at the FBI for the County of Los Angeles. Since 2023, Christina has served as a Police Special Investigator in the Office of the Inspector General for the Los Angeles Police Department with hopes of one day becoming an Inspector General herself.

Now watching the mayhem of 47's second administration as an outsider, Christina reflects on early lessons learned from her mentor at the FBI, retired Executive Assistant Director Arlene Gaylord. Christina continues to follow Arlene’s advice by "putting on lipstick" and "serving drinks."

Connect with Christina on LinkedIn.

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Learn more about Operation Ghost Stories.

Read about the FBI's shift to lower-priority issues over national security matters.

We want to ensure that the Bureau's shift to a preventive counterterrorism posture is more fully institutionalized so that it survives beyond Director Mueller's tenure. We have found that in the past the Bureau has announced its willingness to reform and restructure itself to address transnational security threats, but has fallen short-failing to effect the necessary institutional and cultural changes organization-wide. We want to ensure that this does not happen again. [...] We are concerned that management in the field offices still can allocate people and resources to local concerns that diverge from the national security mission. This system could revert to a focus on lower-priority criminal justice cases over national security requirements.
—The 9/11 Commission Report, 2004, pp. 425

Watch local news coverage from Los Angeles following Comey's 2017 firing.

Learn more about Seton Hall's School of Diplomacy and International Relations

Learn about the LAPD Inspector General’s Office

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