Violent Crime Rates Fell Again in 2024 and Are Likely To Keep Dropping in 2025
This is great news, but it also undercuts Donald Trump's claim that violent crime was out of control before he returned to office.
FBI
The FBI Seized Her $40,000 Without Explaining Why. She Fought Back Against That Practice—and Lost.
The twist underscores just how little accountability exists in civil forfeiture, which allows law enforcement to seize assets without charging the owner with a crime.
D.C. Police Worried That Fear of Terrorism Could Inspire More Terrorism
A recently disclosed bulletin from October 2023 shows the Inception-like nature of national security politics.
X's Win in Federal Court Is a Victory for Free Speech and Open Disclosure
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has placed minor restraints on the government’s ability to impose gag orders on secret subpoenas issued to tech companies.
MAGA's Epstein Files Fight Shows the Long Tail of QAnon
Like sex trafficking panic more broadly, the Epstein files are a useful political tool—as long as they remain hidden.
The Kash Patel Loyalty Test
Plus: Canada tariffs, New York City overtaken by sharks, Paxton cheating scandal, and more...
Did the Secret Service Surveil James Comey Without a Warrant After '86 47' Post?
The former FBI director's cringey Instagram photos are not an "exigent circumstance" that allows law enforcement to circumvent the Constitution.
Federal Courts Shrug at Potentially Lethal Wrong-Door Raids
Cops should not be free to forgo the modicum of care required to make sure they’re in the right place.
Don't Let Rights-Violating Federal Agents Dodge Accountability
Plus: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on wax.
Sen. Padilla Forcibly Removed From Kristi Noem's L.A. Press Conference
The California senator was trying to ask about immigration enforcement when federal agents handcuffed and ejected him.
The FBI Raided This Innocent Georgia Family's Home. The Supreme Court Just Revived Their Lawsuit.
Agents detonated a grenade and broke into the house, guns drawn. But while the decision is good news for Curtrina Martin and Toi Cliatt, their legal battle is far from over.
Would Releasing the Martin Luther King Files Help Curb the Surveillance State?
The FBI spied on the civil rights leader for years. Would releasing its surveillance files just be a further violation of King's privacy, or would it make future abuses less likely?
Federal Prosecutors Are Starting To Sound Like Campus Activists About Sex and Consent
With the OneTaste case, the Department of Justice has embraced infantilizing ideas about women, consent, and coercion.
That Time the FBI Conspired To Get George Foreman an Award for Boxing
In 1968, the feds thought that the boxing champion—and future grill salesman—could be a potent weapon against the left.
That Time L.A.'s Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Called in a Bomb Threat on His Own City Hall
Former official Brian K. Williams just admitted that he faked a bomb threat during a work meeting. Now he faces up to 10 years in prison.
James Comey's Deleted '86 47' Instagram Post Is Obviously Protected by the First Amendment
A lot of conservatives are falling prey to the same snowflakery they criticize.
Government Argues It's Too Much To Ask the FBI To Check the Address Before Blowing Up a Home
The Department of Justice told the Supreme Court there were "policy tradeoffs that an officer makes" in determining if he should "take one more extra precaution" to make sure he's at the right house.
Newly Released Documents Show What the Feds Knew About the New Jersey Drone Scare
Even after the Biden administration realized the most alarming claims were bunk, it didn't publicize the evidence it had.
An Intelligence Memo Casts Further Doubt on Trump's Nonsensical Definition of 'Alien Enemies'
A declassified assessment contradicts the president's assertion that Tren de Aragua is "closely aligned with" the Venezuelan government and acts at its "direction."
Why the FBI Arrested Judge Hannah Dugan
The Wisconsin judge is charged with obstruction of justice and concealing an undocumented alien to prevent his arrest.
The FBI Wrongly Raided a Georgia Family's Home. Now Their Case Is Going to the Supreme Court.
A federal court ruled Trina Martin could not sue the government after agents burst into her home and held an innocent man at gunpoint.
Pete Hegseth's Carelessness and Dishonesty Mirror Hillary Clinton's
The defense secretary, who shared information about imminent U.S. air strikes in a manifestly insecure group chat, thought Clinton should be prosecuted for her careless handling of sensitive information.
The FBI Seized This Woman's Life Savings—Without Telling Her Why
Linda Martin's lawsuit alleges that the agency violated her right to due process when it took her $40,200 and sent her a notice failing to articulate the reason.
FBI Failed To Spot Faked Evidence in Case Against Alleged Orgasm Cult
Journals allegedly written by the government's star witness in 2015 were not authentic, prosecutors now say.
In Trump's Revenge Fantasy, Biden Did Not Actually Pardon Members of the January 6 Committee
The president says those legislators are "subject to investigation at the highest level," notwithstanding their pardons and the Speech or Debate Clause.
Sheriff Says 'Public Trust' in New Mexico Law Enforcement 'Is Completely Lost' Because of Police Corruption
"This is a gut punch," says Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen. "This is a kick to my balls and two black eyes, to be honest with you."
The Sad Quest for a Secret 'Epstein Client List'
The Trump administration’s spectacle rehashed information that journalists, lawyers, and victims had already unveiled.
Will Absorbing the ATF Into the FBI Rein in Each Agency's Abuses?
The ATF, charged with regulating firearms, has a history of abuse and incompetence.
A SWAT Team Raided This Innocent Family's Home. The Supreme Court Won't Hear Their Case.
Whether or not a reasonable police officer violates clearly established law when he declines to check the features and address of his target house before raiding it is thus still up for debate.
RIP to Government Acronyms
One perk that may materialize from Elon Musk upending the federal bureaucracy is the downfall of the government’s obsessive use of abbreviations.
Will FBI Director Kash Patel Be a Principled Reformer or a Trump Hatchet Man?
The newly confirmed head of the country's leading law enforcement agency has a history of advocating politically motivated investigations even while condemning them.
The Weak, Weird Case Against a Supposed 'Orgasm Cult'
Snakes. Magic. Orgasmic meditation. And a dubious federal case against the leaders of a supposed sex cult.
Pervasive Police Corruption in Albuquerque Explains Why a Teetotaler Was Arrested for DWI
A driver who was acquitted of drunk driving joins a class action lawsuit provoked by a bribery scheme that went undetected for decades.
Albuquerque's Ever-Expanding Police Corruption Scandal Goes Back Decades and Involves 'Many Officers'
In the latest guilty plea, a local defense attorney says he had been bribing cops to make DWI cases disappear "since at least the late 1990s."
Corrupt Albuquerque Cops Had Friends in High Places, Including Internal Affairs
For a decade and a half, officers made DWI cases go away in exchange for bribes, relying on protection from senior officers implicated in the same racket.
Trump's FBI Purges Could Reduce Danger Posed by the Bureau—or Make It His Weapon
A defanged FBI could minimize our reliance on politicians’ (rarely) good intentions.
FBI Nominee Kash Patel, Who Vowed To 'Come After' Trump's Enemies, Disclaims 'Retributive Actions'
At his confirmation hearing, the president's pick to run the nation's leading law enforcement agency ran away from his record as a MAGA zealot.
A Guilty Plea Implicates 'Almost the Entire' Albuquerque DWI Unit in Longstanding Police Corruption
Federal prosecutors say the city's police department was the main focus of a 15-year bribery scheme that also involved the sheriff's office and the state police.
The FBI Wrongly Raided This Family's Home. Now the Supreme Court Will Hear Their Case.
Curtrina Martin's petition attracted support from a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
Biden's Preemptive Pardons Undermine Official Accountability and the Rule of Law
His last-minute acts of clemency invite Trump and future presidents to shield their underlings from the consequences of committing crimes in office.
Police Data: N.J. Drone Sightings Concentrated Along Airport Flight Paths
Are New Jerseyans mistaking normal airplanes for mysterious drones?
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.
