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An in-depth look into the long history of conflict between American presidents and the FBI. Inspired by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tim Weiner’s book, Enemies: A History of the FBI, the series presents the long, complex history of presidents testing the rule of law and the FBI’s job to enforce it.
2018
How the FBI, and the nation, came to realize that the President could be held accountable for his actions. Using the long relationship between FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and President Richard Nixon as a map, we gain a new understanding of the complex dance the two institutions still engage in to this day.
President Ronald Reagan did whatever it took to free U.S. hostages held in Lebanon and fund the Contra anti-communists. Loyal National Security Council aides Oliver North and John Poindexter got the job done, while Attorney General Ed Meese worked more as a personal defense attorney than the nation’s chief law enforcement official. The FBI, however, stayed faithful to the Constitution and continued to investigate. As the stakes were raised in trials and testimony, Reagan’s team shredded documents, perjured themselves and concealed evidence.
The same people who criticize the work of the FBI and the Special Counsel looking into President Trump once pushed to investigate President Bill Clinton and bring him down. FBI Director Louis Freeh and Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr defended their probes of the President’s blood, semen, friends and ties to Chinese fundraisers. This episode examines the 1998 impeachment proceedings and reconsiders today’s investigations from the opposite political perspective.
President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey while being investigated for possible collusion with Russia to meddle in the 2016 presidential election. This set in motion a chain of events that could lead to the biggest constitutional crisis in U.S. history. The meetings and calls between the President and Comey, and the escalating Russia investigation, reveal how the pillars of democracy are being tested. Comey’s firing triggers the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who must now carry the torch of justice. Finale.
