Ryan Lucas
Ryan Lucas covers the Justice Department for NPR.
He focuses on the national security side of the Justice beat, including counterterrorism and counterintelligence. Lucas also covers a host of other justice issues, including the Trump administration's "tough-on-crime" agenda and anti-trust enforcement.
Before joining NPR, Lucas worked for a decade as a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press based in Poland, Egypt and Lebanon. In Poland, he covered the fallout from the revelations about secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe. In the Middle East, he reported on the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and the turmoil that followed. He also covered the Libyan civil war, the Syrian conflict and the rise of the Islamic State. He reported from Iraq during the U.S. occupation and later during the Islamic State takeover of Mosul in 2014.
He also covered intelligence and national security for Congressional Quarterly.
Lucas earned a bachelor's degree from The College of William and Mary, and a master's degree from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee amid mounting concerns that the DOJ is being weaponized to go after President Trump's perceived enemies. -
The administration's approach to drug cartels relies — at least in part — on a blueprint for military strikes that mirror those waged during the global war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. -
Kash Patel's appearance in the Senate came at a delicate time for the director, who is a loyalist of President Trump but has no experience leading an organization like the FBI. -
Analysts and law enforcement authorities are still sifting through evidence and conducting interviews to learn as much as they can about the suspect's beliefs, including bullet casings with messages inscribed on them. -
NPR combed through court records and other data related to Trump's takeover of D.C. police to get a better understanding of who has been swept up in the federal surge and what charges they are facing. -
The FBI says its searches of Bolton's home and office was authorized by a court but declined to provide further details. Bolton is a frequent critic of the president. -
President Trump called for the release of the grand jury transcripts after growing pressure to divulge more information about Jeffrey Epstein's case, but the judge on the case said there is nothing new to release. -
Todd Blanche's personal involvement in the case of Jeffrey Epstein is fueling questions about proper procedures at the Justice Department. -
Since taking the helm more than 100 days ago, Patel has yet to shutter the FBI headquarters and reopen it as a museum as he once said he would, but he has begun trying to remake the bureau. -
President Trump has signed three orders punishing law firms that have represented people or causes unpopular with the president.
