I get it. The world is complex, and grouping helps make it more manageable. However, in no way are the "Feds," part of the same tribe, especially in 2023.
>All such schools are hotbeds for govt spies, other folks.
Maybe recruitment? I'm not familiar with the curriculum at USC. Seems like you'd get them when they finished their degrees, unless they offer "wetwork" as an elective.
>They use the same techniques that this neuroscientist uses.
Disagree. Whatever tribe or faction these people you describe belong to, they are definitely not publishing papers. They'd be administrators. They are not involved in prosecuting academic malfeasance, and certainly the prosecution, is not taking advice from retired government employees. He/she/they have their own careers to consider!
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openais-board-set-ba...
You can absolutely get hauled in front of a judge for fraud and abuse in the use of NIH grants. You can be required to pay all of the money back, among other punishments. Google will reveal a variety of cases.
It is in fact rare for retired federal bureaucrats to become professors. It is much more common for people at the Secretary level to get teaching positions at schools of public policy. I am not aware of any former CIA directors holding those roles but I invite you to look.
These schools are not “hotbeds of spies” - truly that it is a completely uninformed statement.
By the way, very few law professors work via grants and even fewer via NIH grants.