Police Data: N.J. Drone Sightings Concentrated Along Airport Flight Paths
Are New Jerseyans mistaking normal airplanes for mysterious drones?
FBI
We Don't Need Terrorism Laws When Murder Is Already Illegal
The government has given itself special powers to deal with crimes that it could already prosecute.
Kash Patel's QAnon Dalliances Reflect an Outlook That Pits Trump Against Evil Conspirators
The president-elect's pick for FBI director says he rejects some of the right-wing sect's bizarre beliefs but agrees with "a lot of what the movement says."
When Deciding Whether To Investigate His Opponents, Trump Says, He Will Defer to 'Very Fair' Kash Patel
Trump's pick to run the FBI has a long list of enemies he plans to "come after," with the legal details to be determined later.
Kash Patel's Threats Against Journalists Make Him an Alarming Choice To Run the FBI
"We're gonna come after the people in the media," the Trump stalwart warns. "Whether it's criminally or civilly, we'll figure that out."
Trump Appointees Kash Patel and Massad Boulos Are Not Neocons
Trump's picks for FBI director and Middle East adviser buck his trend of appointing superhawks.
Biden's Final Insult to Our Intelligence
Plus: A listener asks the editors about the libertarian position on doctor-assisted suicide.
Joe Pardons Hunter
Plus: Media figures and politicians react to the news, Donald Trump appoints Kash Patel to head the FBI, and more...
In Michigan, the CIA Beat the FBI
Michiganders had to choose between a hawkish Democrat with an intelligence background and a hawkish Republican with an intelligence background for Senate.
The FBI Wrongly Raided This Family's Home. A Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Wants the Supreme Court To Step In.
A federal court denied them the right to sue—despite Congress enacting a law five decades ago specifically for situations like this one.
Who Are Langley's Favorite Candidates?
Campaign finance records reveal what the community at the heart of U.S. national security policy thinks about outside politics.
The FBI's Quiet Revision of Its 2022 Crime Numbers Adds Fuel to an Argument Between Harris and Trump
While it is not true that "homicides are skyrocketing," recent trends in other kinds of violent crime are murkier.
The 'Day of Jihad' That Never Came
One year ago, political figures spread a false terrorism panic that made everyone less free—and incited violence against a child.
New FBI Data Further Deflate Trump's Claim That Crime Is Rising
Violent crime fell by 3 percent last year, the agency estimates. That includes a 12 percent drop in homicides.
Who Wanted To Kill Henry Kissinger?
Newly released FBI files show a lot of strange threats against the former secretary of state’s safety—and say a lot about 1970s America.
New Survey Data Undermine Trump's Narrative of Rising Crime
According to Trump's preferred source, violent victimizations fell slightly in 2023, although the difference was not statistically significant.
The FBI Is Undercounting Firearm Self-Defense Incidents
"A couple million times a year, people use guns defensively," says economist and author John Lott.
Trump's New, More Sophisticated Take on Crime Still Does Not Show 'Homicides Are Skyrocketing'
Although his campaign rejects the FBI's numbers as "garbage," they are broadly consistent with evidence from other sources.
Trump Falsely Claims That 'Homicides Are Skyrocketing,' an Imaginary Trend He Blames on Kamala Harris
Trump's campaign dismisses recent crime data while glossing over the fact that he was president during the huge homicide spike in 2020.
The FBI Raided This Innocent Woman's House. Will She Ever Get Justice?
Thus far, the courts have barred Curtrina Martin from asking a jury for damages. She is appealing to the Supreme Court.
Court Rules That the Government Can Hide Its Own Report on CIA Torture
The executive branch and the Senate have played hot potato with an infamous torture report, allowing the CIA to evade the Freedom of Information Act.
Biden Cites the Farcical FBI-Assisted Plot To Kidnap Gretchen Whitmer as an Example of Political Violence
The plot to kidnap the Michigan governor was in large part concocted and encouraged by paid FBI informants and their Bureau handlers.
He Faced a Terrorism Probe, Went to Jail on a Gun Charge, and Now Is Charged With Drug Possession
Although the FBI never produced evidence that Ali Hemani was a threat to national security, it seems determined to imprison him by any means necessary.
Anthony Fauci's Inner Circle Initially Thought COVID Came From a Lab
Sen. Rand Paul explains why FOIA litigation shouldn’t have been necessary to find this out.
Preliminary FBI Data: Crime Steeply Declined in Early 2024
While the data is far from perfect, if the overall trend holds, violent crime could be back to pre-COVID levels by the end of the year.
Biden Wants a Defense Pact With Saudi Arabia While 9/11 Victims Are Suing the Kingdom
The White House announced a “near final” defense pact with Saudi Arabia yesterday, just as new evidence about Saudi links to 9/11 is emerging.
World War War III May Already Have Started—in the Shadows
Cyber intrusions, arson, bombings, and other mayhem feature in the conflict between West and East.
An American Gangster at 100: J. Edgar Hoover's Authoritarian Legacy
Hoover’s reign at the FBI compromised American civil liberties and turned the FBI into America's secret police.
Trump Promised To 'Drain the Swamp.' He Did the Opposite.
Total spending under Trump nearly doubled. New programs filled Washington with more bureaucrats.
A Year Before Albuquerque's Police Corruption Scandal Made Headlines, an Internal Probe Found Nothing
In 2022, police received a tip that officers were getting paid to make DWI cases disappear—the same allegation that prompted FBI raids in January.
Feds Worried About Anarchists Gluing the Locks to a Government Facility
A FOIA request reveals what the FBI and Homeland Security had to say about anarchist activities on May Day 2015.
The FBI Was Monitoring Student Protests Against Ben Shapiro
A newly-obtained intelligence memo shows that the feds took a keen interest in Trump-era campus speech controversies.
Congress Does Not Come Back With a Warrant
Plus: A listener asks the editors for examples of tasks the government does well (yikes).
Democrats Tank FISA Warrant Requirement
The measure would have required federal agents to get a warrant before searching American communications collected as part of foreign intelligence.
Come Back With a Warrant
Plus: A fight over Section 702 spying reforms, Iran threatens Israel and the U.S., Trump's proposed tariff is even worse than we thought, and more...
Republicans Split on Whether FBI Should Be Able To Snoop Without a Warrant
A Section 702 reauthorization moving through Congress could actually weaken privacy protections.
FBI Agent Says He Hassles People 'Every Day, All Day Long' Over Facebook Posts
"It's just an effort to keep everybody safe and make sure nobody has any ill will," he claimed.
A 5th Albuquerque Cop Resigns Amid Widening DWI Corruption Scandal
"There is a much bigger story here," the officer's lawyer says. "It goes outward and upward."
The New York Times Again Worries That Free Speech Endangers Democracy
The newspaper portrays the constitutional challenge to the government's social media meddling as a conspiracy by Donald Trump's supporters.
Republicans Use Fuzzy Math To Claim Large FBI, ATF Cuts in Budget Bill
The total appropriations package would cut $200 billion over 10 years, as the national debt expands by $20 trillion.
4 Reasons Trump Says a Judge Should Dismiss Charges in the Classified Documents Case
His lawyers assert presidential immunity and discretion, criticize an "unconstitutionally vague" statute, and question the special counsel's legal status.
Albuquerque Cops Allegedly Got Paid To Make DWI Cases Disappear
The scandal has resulted in the dismissal of some 200 DWI cases, an internal probe, and an FBI investigation.
Trump's Alleged Defiance and Deceit Distinguish His Handling of Secrets From Biden's
Unlike Biden's conduct, Special Counsel Robert Hur notes, the document-related charges against Trump feature "serious aggravating facts."
Controversial Surveillance Law Up for Renewal (Again) in April
Congress gave FISA’s Section 702 a brief lease on life, but civil liberties concerns haven’t gone away.
Appeals Court: FBI's Safe-Deposit Box Seizures Violated Fourth Amendment
Cases like this are exactly why the Fourth Amendment was adopted in the first place, wrote federal Judge Milan D. Smith Jr.
Congress Renews Warrantless Digital Spying Program as Part of $886 Billion Spending Bill
Section 702 will continue until April, when Congress will have another shot at seriously reforming a program that desperately needs it.
House Proposal Would Expand Federal Warrantless Spying Authority
One bill set to be considered would grow the scope of federal digital surveillance and would authorize the federal government to use those powers against more individuals.
Congress Prepares To Reauthorize a Warrantless Domestic Spying Program the FBI Abused
Competing FISA Section 702 reauthorization bills will reach the House floor next week, Speaker Johnson says.
