Juan Zarate will join NBC News and MSNBC as a senior national security analyst starting next week. Zarate, who was deputy assistant to President George W. Bush and deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism from 2005 to 2009, will provide insight on the issues of counterterrorism and national security for Today, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press, MSNBC and NBC News’ digital platforms.
A California native and Harvard grad, Zarate comes to the Peacock from CBS News where he served as a senior national security analyst and hosted a weekly national security program called Flash Points on CBSNews.com.
In addition to his work as a TV newser, Zarate is currently the chairman and co-founder of the Financial Integrity Network consulting firm, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a visiting lecturer at Harvard Law School. He also serves as chairman and senior counselor for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance (CSIF) and as a senior fellow at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
“With his wealth of wide-ranging expertise, Juan will certainly be an invaluable source of information and analysis for our coverage across both networks,” Janelle Rodriguez, svp editorial, NBC News, wrote in a staff memo on Monday. “Juan will be an instrumental addition to our team as we cover domestic and international events.”