In 2008, he joined the International Assessment and Strategy Center for a one-year stint as Senior Fellow and Director of National Security Law.
[4] Breinholt earned his Bachelor of Arts from Yale College in 1985 and his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1988.
He helped to create a special FBI unit devoted to U.S.-based fundraising by international terrorist organizations and the team of financial prosecutors he headed within the Counterterrorism Section is dedicated to prosecuting material support crimes.
Breinholt teaches a class entitled Criminal Tax Litigation at the George Washington University Law School.
In 2024, after his retirement, Breinholt spoke to USA Today about his expectations for the ongoing investigations into former president Donald Trump in relation to the January 6th attacks.