ERIC TUCKER

National security reporter

Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department.
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to reporters as President Donald Trump listens, Friday, June 27, 2025, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Trump mired in Epstein controversy as Wall Street Journal reports on 2003 letter
The controversy over President Donald Trump’s handling of records from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation entered a new dimension Thursday as his administration struggles to make good on its promises to release details on the sex trafficking case involving a one-time friend of the now-president.
 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey is outside court during the Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
‘Fear is the tool of a tyrant’, fired federal prosecutor Maurene Comey tells colleagues
Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey who as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan worked on cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, has told colleagues in a note that “fear is the tool of a tyrant” and that her firing without reason should fuel “a fire of righteou
 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey is outside court during the Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
Justice Department fires Maurene Comey, prosecutor on Epstein case and daughter of ex-FBI director
The Justice Department has fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a prosecutor in the federal cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
 
President Donald Trump arriving before speaking at a ceremony to sign the "Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act," in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump tries to blame others as tensions rise around handling of Epstein case
President Donald Trump is countering criticism of the Justice Department’s failure to release much-hyped records around the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, accusing former government officials including Barack Obama, Joe Biden and James Comey of tampering with related documents.
 
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to reporters as President Donald Trump listens, Friday, June 27, 2025, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Justice Dept. fires more prosecutors, support staff involved in Trump prosecutions, AP sources say
The Justice Department has fired additional lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into President Donald Trump.
 
Daniel Bongino speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, June 10, 2020, in Washington. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP, File)
Furor over Epstein files sparks clash between Bondi and Bongino at the Justice Department
The fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files flap is cascading, further roiling a Justice Department and FBI that have struggled for months to appease the demands of far-right conservative personalities and influential members of President Donald Trump’s base.
 
Former CIA Director John Brennan arrives for a meeting at the Capitol in Washington, May 21, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Years later, key figures in Russia investigation face new scrutiny from Trump administration
The Justice Department appeared to acknowledge in an unusual statement this week the existence of investigations into former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan.
 
Attorney General Pam Bondi, left, listens as President Donald Trump, right, speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump comes to Bondi’s defense amid uproar from his base over Jeffrey Epstein files flop
President Donald Trump is defending Attorney General Pam Bondi as she faces mounting criticism from far-right influencers and conservative internet personalities over the Justice Department’s abrupt refusal to release additional documents from the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation.
 
This photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein, March 28, 2017. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)
Epstein ‘client list’ doesn’t exist, Justice Department says
The Justice Department will not release more files related to the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation despite promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists.
 
CIA Director John Ratcliffe departs a classified briefing for senators at the Capitol on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
New CIA report criticizes investigation into Russia’s support for Trump in 2016
A newly released report from the CIA challenges the work intelligence agencies did to investigate Russia’s support for Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 election.
 
FBI Director Kash Patel testifies during a budget hearing on Capitol Hill, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)
FBI says it plans to move headquarters to different location in Washington
The FBI has announced that it planned to move its Washington headquarters several blocks away from its current five-decade-old home.
 
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to the media, Friday, June 27, 2025, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
2 Chinese nationals charged with spying inside the US for Beijing, Justice Department says
Two Chinese nationals have been charged with spying inside the United States on behalf of Beijing, including by taking photographs of a naval base and by participating in efforts to recruit members of the military who they thought might be open to working for Chinese intelligence.
 
Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the President's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Takeaways from AP’s report on Attorney General Bondi’s comments about evidence in Epstein case
The Associated Press has spoken with lawyers and law enforcement officials in cases concerning Jeffrey Epstein who say they have not seen and do not know of a trove of recordings like what Attorney General Pam Bondi has described.
 
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to the media, Friday, June 27, 2025, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Mystery surrounds the Jeffrey Epstein files after Bondi claims ‘tens of thousands’ of videos
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s comments about evidence the Justice Department is reviewing from its Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation have fueled anticipation about the expected release of more files related to the New York financier.
 
The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a press conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Justice Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, file)
US brings charges in North Korean remote worker scheme that officials say funds weapons program
The Justice Department has announced criminal charges in connection with a scheme by North Korea to fund its weapons program through the salaries of remote information technology employed unwittingly by U.S. companies.
 
President Donald Trump listens during a briefing with the media, Friday, June 27, 2025, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Judge rejects another Trump executive order targeting the legal community
A federal judge has struck down another of President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms. U.S.
 
University of Virginia president, James Ryan speaks during a press conference at the school, Dec 13, 2021, in Charlottesville, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
University of Virginia president, pressured over DEI, resigns rather than ‘fight federal government’
The president of the University of Virginia has announced he is resigning amid heavy pressure from conservative critics and the Trump administration over the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
 
President Donald Trump gestures after arriving on Air Force One, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump’s latest rejection of intelligence assessments reflects a long distrust of spy agencies
A leaked intelligence memo contradicting President Donald Trump’s assessment of U.S. strikes on Iran is the latest conflict with a part of the federal government he views with deep suspicion.
 
A National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin issued by the Department of Homeland Security warning of a "heightened threat environment" following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, is photographed June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
As US cities heighten security, Iran’s history of reprisal points to murder-for-hire plots
The Department of Homeland Security is warning of a heightened threat environment following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
 
Christine Levinson, center, wife of Robert Levinson, and her children, Dan Levinson, right, and Samantha Levinson talk to reporters in New York, Jan. 18, 2016. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Family of ex-FBI agent presumed dead in Iran hopes talks with US can lead to return of his remains
The family of a retired FBI agent presumed dead after vanishing in Iran 18 years ago is calling for any deal between the United States and Iran to include the return of his remains.
 
President Donald Trump talks with reporters as he meets with members of the Juventus soccer club in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate 2020 election, reviving longstanding grievance
President Donald Trump is calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden, repeating his baseless claim the contest was marred by widespread fraud.
 
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference regarding the recent protests in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Kristi Noem is ‘alert and recovering’ after trip to hospital over allergic reaction, official says
A spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department says Secretary Kristi Noem was taken to a hospital to treat an allergic reaction but is “alert and recovering.”
 
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a news conference at the Manassas FBI Field Office, March 27, 2025, in Manassas, VA. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, File)
The FBI heightens its focus on violent crime and immigration even as other threats abound
The FBI under the leadership of Director Kash Patel has made fighting violent crime and illegal immigration top priorities.
 
This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP)
Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the US, charged with transporting people in the country illegally
Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been charged by the Trump administration with transporting people who were in the country illegally.
 
President Joe Biden waits to speak at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
What Trump ordering an investigation into Biden’s actions might mean legally and politically
President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into pardons and other executive actions issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden — launching an unprecedented effort to show that the Democrat hid his cognitive decline and was otherwise too mentally impaired to do the job.
 
Law enforcement officials investigate after an attack on the Pearl Street Mall Sunday, June 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Suspect posed as a gardener in Boulder attack and planned to kill all in group he called ‘Zionist’
Authorities say a man posed as a gardener before launching an attack in Boulder with Molotov cocktails that injured 12 people.
 
Law enforcement officials dress up in protective gear to investigative an attack on the Pearl Street Mall, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
FBI says 8 injured in Colorado attack by man with makeshift flamethrower who yelled ‘Free Palestine’
The FBI says a man with a makeshift flamethrower yelled “Free Palestine” and hurled an incendiary device into a crowd that had assembled to raise attention for Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
 
Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland leaves federal appeals court in New York on March 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
Trump’s latest pardons benefit an array of political allies and public figures
The latest pardons by President Donald Trump are another example of him flexing his power to bestow clemency on political allies and prominent public officials, including those convicted of defrauding the public.
 
President Donald Trump speaks during the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Trump’s campaign against law firms dealt another setback as judge blocks executive order
President Donald Trump’s campaign against the legal profession has hit another setback as a federal judge struck down yet another executive order that sought to sanction one of the country’s most prestigious law firms.
 
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Judge blocks another Trump executive order targeting a major law firm
A federal judge has permanently blocked another of President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting a major law firm, calling it unconstitutional retaliation designed to punish lawyers for their legal work that the White House does not like.
 
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