Standoff: The FBI, Power and Paranoia

1 season available

Examining the relationships between FBI directors and U.S. presidents; analyzing the interactions between James Comey and Donald Trump, J. Edgar Hoover and Richard Nixon, Louis Freeh and Bill Clinton, and Robert Mueller and George W. Bush.
Comey / Trump: Loyalty Test
S1 E1

Donald Trump takes office as the FBI investigates Hillary Clinton and Russian election interference; when Director James Comey refuses to pledge loyalty, Trump fires him, raising questions about the FBI's independence and national security.

Hoover / Nixon: Friends with Secrets
S1 E2

During his tenure, J. Edgar Hoover transforms the FBI into a law-enforcement powerhouse, and a hub of unchecked surveillance; when Richard Nixon pressures him to expand domestic spying, Hoover is forced to defend the Bureau's independence.

Mueller / Bush: Tracked and Surveilled
S1 E4

In the wake of 9/11, George W. Bush and new FBI Director Robert Mueller unite to prevent another attack, but their close alignment ushers in the Patriot Act and an era of surveillance and government overreach not seen since Hoover's reign.