The Preamble

The Preamble

Loyalty First, Law Second

An FBI official said no. Here’s what happened:

Elise Labott's avatar
Elise Labott
Aug 12, 2025
∙ Paid

When veteran FBI agent Brian Driscoll became acting FBI director in January, he found himself in an impossible position. The Trump administration demanded he hand over the names of thousands of agents who had worked on January 6 investigations. Driscoll refused. Within days, he was accused of "insubordination" by Justice Department officials.

Last week, …

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Elise Labott
Global affairs journalist. I write Cosmopolitics on Substack.
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