Scott Carmichael Character Analysis in Talking to Strangers

Scott Carmichael is the DIA counterintelligence officer who investigated and interrogated Ana Belen Montes in response to Reg Brown’s suspicion that Montes was a Cuban informant. Initially, Carmichael found nothing unusual about Montes’s files. In retrospect, Carmichael realizes that many of Montes’s early statements and reactions should have raised his suspicions. Gladwell interprets Carmichael’s initial lack of suspicion as evidence of Tim Levine’s Truth-Default Theory in action: Carmichael might have had minor doubts about Montes, but they weren’t enough to convince him of the huge allegation that Montes was a spy.

Scott Carmichael Character Timeline in Talking to Strangers

The timeline below shows where the character Scott Carmichael appears in Talking to Strangers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...but he finally came forward with his findings to a DIA counterintelligence officer named Scott Carmichael. Brown’s most damning evidence included a report he had compiled in the late 1980s attesting... (full context)

...Brown’s suspicion that there was a high-ranking informant inside American intelligence. In his report to Carmichael, Brown also revealed that Montes had worked at the DIA’s office on Bolling Air Force... (full context)

Months later, Carmichael investigated Montes’s file and learned that she had passed her lie detector test and had... (full context)

After Carmichael corroborated Montes’s information, he was convinced that Reg Brown’s concerns were unfounded. The investigation faded... (full context)

...Shortly after this, Montes joined the DIA and moved steadily up the ranks. When Scott Carmichael conducted his investigation of Montes, her coworkers described her as “focused” and “intelligent,” albeit somewhat... (full context)

When Montes met with Carmichael, she assumed he was conducting a standard security check. She initially tried to call Carmichael... (full context)

Carmichael remembers having doubts about Montes. But, as Levine would argue, doubt that one can reason... (full context)

...a signal to Montes that her spymasters needed to speak with her right away. When Carmichael later asked Montes if she had seen anyone she knew after leaving the office the... (full context)