FBI

NSA surveillance protesters, organized by the “Stop Watching Us” coalition, march from Union Station to the US Capitol in 2013.

The FBI Is Back to Its Old Habits: Illegally Spying on Protesters The FBI Is Back to Its Old Habits: Illegally Spying on Protesters

There should be no future for Section 702, an enduring vestige of the post-9/11 security state. To kill it, all Congress has to do is do nothing.

Jun 9, 2023 / Column / Spencer Ackerman

This illustration photo taken on July 8, 2022 shows Elon Musk's Twitter page displayed on the screen of a smartphone with Twitter logo in the background in Los Angeles. - Elon Musk pulled the plug on his deal to buy Twitter on July 8, 2022, accusing the company of

What Were the Twitter Files? What Were the Twitter Files?

While it's clear Matt Taibbi made some serious factual errors, criticisms of the disclosures have ignored the role of the FBI and other parts of the national security state.

Apr 26, 2023 / Branko Marcetic

FBI Director Christopher Wray

The DOJ Is Using “Foreign Agents” Accusations to Repress Black Liberation Organizers The DOJ Is Using “Foreign Agents” Accusations to Repress Black Liberation Organizers

We must demand that the FBI cease invoking the Foreign Agents Registration Act to spy on and criminalize Black social justice leaders.

Apr 25, 2023 / Collin P. Poirot and Azadeh Shahshahani

J. Edgar Hoover tests a gun.

The Cult of J. Edgar Hoover The Cult of J. Edgar Hoover

A zealot through and through, he ran the FBI like a religious sect.

Mar 7, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Adam Hochschild

The Original Sin Is We Classify Too Much

The Original Sin Is We Classify Too Much The Original Sin Is We Classify Too Much

How overclassification fails us and harms national security.

Jan 25, 2023 / Elizabeth Goitein

Merrick Garland at press conference

Why Biden and Trump Are Both Trapped in Secret-Document Scandals Why Biden and Trump Are Both Trapped in Secret-Document Scandals

The real problem is the national security state’s love of classification.

Jan 17, 2023 / Jeet Heer

How the GOP Learned to Hate the FBI

How the GOP Learned to Hate the FBI How the GOP Learned to Hate the FBI

And why it matters that Democrats and Republicans have switched positions on the national security state.

Dec 30, 2022 / Jeet Heer

Merrick Garland stands at a podium at the U.S. Department of Justice.

If Merrick Garland Had the Courage of His Convictions… If Merrick Garland Had the Courage of His Convictions…

Donald Trump would already be on his way to prison.

Dec 9, 2022 / Ben Gerson

President Barack Obama and then-President-elect Donald Trump smile before the 2017 inauguration.

Off the Record: Barack Obama on Donald Trump Off the Record: Barack Obama on Donald Trump

A newly declassified press conference shows the former president’s prescience—and his blind spots.

Oct 3, 2022 / Jeet Heer

Do Presidents Have a Right to Secrecy?

Do Presidents Have a Right to Secrecy? Do Presidents Have a Right to Secrecy?

Trump’s refusal to share information has been part and parcel of the Washington scene for far longer than the current moment.

Sep 26, 2022 / Karen J. Greenberg

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