James E. Mitchell transitioned from a military psychologist to a contractor who developed and implemented enhanced interrogation techniques for the CIA. After a distinguished career in the United States Air Force, James E. Mitchell, a retired Lieutenant Colonel and psychologist, became a pivotal contractor for the CIA, where he developed and implemented enhanced interrogation techniques in 2002.

By 1996, he served as a psychologist for a unit within the Air Force Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in mid-2001. Following the September 11 attacks, Mitchell transitioned to a contractor role for the CIA. In 2002, in collaboration with fellow psychologist John Bruce Jessen, he developed an interrogation program based on al-Qaeda documents, leading to the creation of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques.’ Mitchell personally applied these methods, notably waterboarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed 183 times over 15 days in March 2003. To continue their work, Mitchell and Jessen co-founded Mitchell Jessen and Associates in 2005, a firm that received $81 million from the CIA before its contract was canceled in April 2009.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against Mitchell and Jessen in October 2015 on behalf of former detainees, which was settled in August 2017. Most recently, Mitchell provided testimony at Guantánamo Bay in 2020, detailing his involvement in the interrogation program.