BREAKING: FBI Raids Virginia Democrat Who Beat Republicans at Redistricting

Summary

Bulwark Takes — Episode Summary

Episode Title: BREAKING: FBI Raids Virginia Democrat Who Beat Republicans at Redistricting
Host: Sam Stein
Guest: Will Salatin
Date: May 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

This emergency episode covers two breaking stories about the FBI's recent activities:

1. The FBI raid on offices linked to Virginia Democratic leader Louise Lucas, with suspicions swirling over political retribution for her role in state redistricting.
2. News that the FBI may be investigating a journalist at The Atlantic over a critical piece on FBI Director Kash Patel, raising concerns about attacks on press freedom.

Hosts Sam Stein and Will Salatin explore whether these events reflect legitimate law enforcement or the weaponization of justice for political advantage under the Trump administration, drawing on recent patterns of partisan investigations and pardons.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. FBI Raid on Louise Lucas (00:45–07:17)

• Breaking News: The FBI is raiding the office of Virginia State Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, a prominent Democrat who led successful redistricting efforts that hurt Republicans.
  • The raid also extends to a cannabis (hemp) store she owns. Early reports suggest investigators are looking into untested or illicit sales. (00:45–03:08)
• Suspicion of Retaliation:
  • Will Salatin immediately questions motives: “One possibility is Louise Lucas is extremely corrupt…The other possibility…is that this is being used for retribution.” (02:20)
  • Fox News’ presence is seen as suspicious—especially since their London-based foreign correspondent, Alex Hogan, just happened to be on the scene. (00:45–02:17, 07:17)
  • “It does strike me as potentially as one of these issues of retribution and not the law here. But I reserve judgment.” — Sam Stein (01:58)
  • “The presumption for me now is it’s a corrupt investigation. I’m open to evidence…but…most people…are going to assume it’s a vindictive prosecution.” — Will Salatin (03:54)
• Broader Context of Justice Department Behavior:
  • The Trump administration’s Justice Department has pardoned or commuted sentences for Republican lawbreakers but prosecuted mainly Democrats. This undermines trust in the system. (03:08–06:10)
  • “If you’re going to prosecute just one side of the ledger, then you’re going to lose the trust of the public.” — Sam Stein (05:43)
  • Sitting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent TV comments dodging on pardoning January 6th violence convicts is cited as evidence Republican lawbreakers receive different treatment. (06:10–07:17)
• Media Orchestration and PR:
  • The idea that raids are timed and staged for Fox News cameras, possibly just to smear political enemies, is discussed as a “benign” (least sinister) interpretation. (09:24)
  • “They launch these so-called investigations…for the PR. Hence the Fox News crew.” — Will Salatin (09:24)

2. FBI Leak Investigation of The Atlantic (10:06–14:22)

• The Atlantic’s Kash Patel Profile:
  • A recent story painted Patel (FBI director) as paranoid, alcoholic, and unprofessional, based on numerous anonymous sources. (10:06–11:04)
  • FBI is reportedly investigating the journalist for leaks, despite an official denial. The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief calls this “an outrageous attack on the free press.” (11:04–12:10)
  • “We will defend The Atlantic and its staff vigorously. We will not be intimidated by illegitimate investigations or other acts of politically motivated retaliation.” — Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic (11:04)
• Irony and “Russian Doll” Effect:
  • The hosts note the absurdity: the administration dismisses leaks as fake, but then investigates, thereby validating their existence. (12:10–13:26)
  • “Clearly, Sam, the leaks are coming from the agents who are assigned to investigate the leak…” — Will Salatin (12:50)
• Journalistic Confidence:
  • The specificity of the leak investigation, involving an FBI insider threats unit in Huntsville, AL, signals that the reporting is solid and that dissenters still exist inside the Bureau. (13:26–14:35)

3. Fracture Within the FBI (15:01–18:40)

• Dissent In The Ranks:
  • Will Salatin is encouraged to see “honorable people…uncomfortable with this politicization…clearly talking to the press.” (15:02–15:26)
  • The hosts see evidence that infighting and unease persist within the Bureau, not split along party lines, but between “careerists and serious people” and those tied to Trump or Patel. (15:26–16:18)
• Culture of Paranoia—Kash Patel’s Conspiracies (16:18–17:49)
  • A Hannity interview clip features Patel suggesting there are secret rooms to hide documents from him inside the FBI, which both hosts call absurd and symptomatic of an unhealthy culture.
  • “He’s got conspiracies on the mind…It’s making for a fairly rancid situation.” — Sam Stein (17:20)
• Limits of Bureaucratic Safeguards:
  • Protective procedures set under previous administrations (e.g., rules enacted by Merrick Garland) are meaningless if corrupt political appointees run the show. (17:49–18:40)
  • “These bureaucratic procedures…do not work when you have crackpots like Patel…in positions of power.” — Will Salatin (18:08)
  • “It doesn’t matter if you have bad faith actors who just want to tear down the system.” — Sam Stein (18:40)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Baseless Prosecutions:
  “The presumption for me now is it’s a corrupt investigation. I’m open to evidence…But…most people…are going to assume it’s a vindictive prosecution.” (Will Salatin, 03:54)
• Trust in Justice System:
  “If you’re going to prosecute just one side of the ledger, then you’re going to lose the trust of the public.” (Sam Stein, 05:43)
• Press Freedom:
  “If this is true…it would represent an outrageous attack on the free press and the First Amendment itself.” (Jeffrey Goldberg, 11:04)
• On Internal FBI Leaks:
  “Clearly, Sam, the leaks are coming from the agents who are assigned to investigate the leak of the information about Patel.” (Will Salatin, 12:50)
• On Bureaucratic Protections Being Inadequate:
  “Procedures…do not work when you have crackpots like Patel…in positions of power.” (Will Salatin, 18:08)
• On Political Weaponization:
  “It doesn’t matter if you have bad faith actors who just want to tear down the system.” (Sam Stein, 18:40)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• FBI Raids Louise Lucas: 00:45–07:17
• Media Stage-Management, Fox News’ Role: 07:17–09:52
• FBI Leak Investigation into The Atlantic: 10:06–14:22
• Evidence of Dissent Inside FBI: 15:01–16:18
• Kash Patel’s Conspiratorial Claims (Hannity clip): 16:18–17:49
• Failure of Safeguards, Implications for Rule of Law: 17:49–End (approx. 18:45)

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Tone, Flow, and Final Thoughts

• The tone is both incredulous and grave. There’s dark humor as the hosts point out the absurdities and paranoia afflicting America’s top law enforcement agency.
• Throughout, there is a clear alarm about the politicization of the justice system, whether in “retaliatory” prosecutions, stage-managed media events, or the chilling effect on whistleblowers and the press.
• Both hosts distinguish between legitimate accountability and targeted prosecution, urging listeners to remain skeptical and distrustful of one-sided “justice”—especially under current political leadership.
• The episode offers reassurance that dissent and integrity persist within the FBI, but with severe limits as long as “bad faith actors” control top posts.

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For those who haven’t listened:
This episode is a guided, urgent dispatch from the front lines of American law enforcement and press relations, highlighting the descent into politicized justice while clinging to the remaining strands of institutional resistance and journalistic scrutiny.

Transcript

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[Sam Stein]

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[Sam Stein]

Hey, everybody, it's me, Sam Stein, managing editor of the Bulk. I'm joined by Will Salatin. We're here to talk about some breaking FBI news that's happening as we are recording this. A couple stories, actually. I'm going to start with the most recent one, which is there is news that broke this morning that the FBI is on the scene in Portsmouth, Virginia, raiding the offices of a very prominent, very successful Democrat in the state. That's President Pro Tempore Luis Lucas, who is the Democratic leader of the state House. She is responsible not chiefly but primarily for the successful redistricting effort in Virginia. FBI is raiding what appears to be, according to early reports. We're just going off of early reports. Her office in a cannabis store that she owns next to it. There's a lot to unpack here. A lot of weird things happening here. Chief among them, will that Fox News happened to just be in Portsmouth, Virginia, and not just Fox News. That according to the person who tweeted this, Bill Milligan, who is their. One of their top correspondents, he says that it's a correspondent named Alex Hogan who's on the scene. Alex Hogan is Fox's foreign correspondent in London. She happens to be in Portsmouth, Virginia. So, you know, make of it what you will, but look, Luis Lucas is a obvious target for the administration. It does strike me as potentially. We don't know any of the specifics. It does strike me as potentially as one of these issues of retribution and not the law here.

[Will Salatin]

Yeah.

[Sam Stein]

But I reserve judgment. I reserve judgment.

[Will Salatin]

So. So obviously, we have very limited information at this point, but the information that we have. So one possibility is Louise Lucas is extremely corrupt and there's a legitimate, you know, investigation and there are crimes here. That's one possibility. The other possibility, which seems more likely given the track record of the FBI, especially under Trump, is that this is being used for retribution. We have the evidence. First of all, we know that for the reasons you just gave, she led the redistricting that screwed the Republicans out of four seats. There's a reason to want retribution against her by the Republicans. Right. And the other thing, of course, is. So she's connected to this weed shop. If this is really about weed, Sam, it seems like a pretty thin weed to hang an investigation on. You know, like, really, you're.

[Sam Stein]

It may be about weed. The early articles are, you know, pointing to the weed shop as potentially selling illicit, untested weed at her hemp store and things like that. The local report says they are looking at the hemp store that she runs. I mean, again, you. You might be right, though. It could be. We just don't know what we don't know. And it could be that there's, you know, a real compelling case against her for doing some corrupt act. But this is the problem, right? Like the track record of the FBI and the Justice Department is that they are going after their enemies. And not only that, but that they're pardoning, in corruption cases, Republican lawmakers, they are commuting their sentences and pardoning them. And if you do that for 15 months straight, it becomes a bit suspicious after a while.

[Will Salatin]

Yeah, I mean, I hate to say this because I'm a rule of law guy. I mean, all of us here at the Bulwark, we believe in the rule of law. But at a certain point, the behavior of an administration and of this bureau under the administration reaches the point where the presumption shifts the other way. The presumption for me now is it's a corrupt investigation. I'm open to evidence that he got something on Louise Lucas, I'm willing to look at it. But if you put me right now on a grand jury or a jury. Can we talk for a minute about the Comey case? Right, sure.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Will Salatin]

The Comey case is obvious context. They went after Comey. The president ordered the attorney general to indict, point, appointed someone, just. They shoved this indictment through. This was in September, didn't work. The judge invalidated it. They come back, and they come at Comey over posting a picture of seashells. Now, you know, that tells me that the bar for evidence for the FBI, for. For the Justice Department under Trump is extremely low. And the propensity to pursue, to criminalize and to investigate and to charge people who happen to be political opponents or critics of the. The president is extremely, extremely high. The propensity is extremely high. And all of that makes me uninclined so we have a grand jury that clearly bought this indictment of Comey on the seashells. But, Sam, I mean, you put me on that grand jury, or you, or like most people who pay any attention to the news at this point, I'm going to assume it's a vindictive prosecution just as a grand juror.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, no, no doubt. I mean, and I think rightfully so at this juncture, because it would be one thing if they, you know, I think I would think differently perhaps if they ever brought a public corruption case against a sitting Republican.

[Will Salatin]

Right.

[Sam Stein]

If they ever did it. Like, and I'm not saying it's tit for tat. I'm not playing, trying to play both sides of the case. But, you know, surely Republican members of Congress commit acts of corruption, as do Democrats. And it's just if you're going to prosecute just one side of the ledger, then you're going to lose the trust of the public. And this is the big problem. This is the real damage that, that they're doing to the credibility of the Justice Department is that you will not trust the prosecutions in the cases that you bring forward.

[Will Salatin]

Yeah. And Sam, I'm really glad that you brought up that it goes both ways. It's that it's not just that they're bringing invalid investigations against their political opponents, but that they're pardoning people who are. So you and I were talking on Sunday about Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general. He was, was on Meet the Press and they were they one of the things that they asked him about was they, Kristen Welker asked him, are you considering. So Trump pardoned all the J6 people who just walked into the building. That part. He commuted the sentences. Freedom people who were convicted of violence on.

[Ad Narrator]

Right.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah.

[Will Salatin]

Now, they asked Blanche, are you considering, we hear you're considering pardoning the people convicted of violence on January 6th. Remember, bunch of cops died. You know, this is like a horrific incident. And he would not deny that. He said, you know, I mean, that's a simple answer. No, we, you know, so the fact that they are willing to pardon people who commit violence, political violence, on their own behalf adds to their lack of credibility when they, you know, go after somebody for supposedly a weed charge.

[Sam Stein]

We'll see if it's a weed charge, if that's. Or if there's more to it. Obviously, we're just getting preliminary reports. It's 11:45 in the morning and I'm like literally monitor Twitter to see if there's anything new about it. But right now all we know again to recap is that Fox News just suddenly happened to be their London correspondent. Happened to be in Portsmouth, Virginia. Maybe like they happen to be vacationing in Portsmouth and I don't know they great instincts by the editors at Fox News to have that person on the scene in Portsmouth with a camera crew too even really so, you know, the.

[Will Salatin]

The benign. Ver. The benign interpretation.

[Sam Stein]

What is the. Is there a benign interpretation?

[Will Salatin]

I.

[Sam Stein]

It's possible she no longer is the foreign correspondent in London, but her Twitter bio does say foreign correspondent in London. I don't know if she would be reassigned to Portsmouth even in that case. But what is the benign explanation? This ad is brought to you by Aura Frames. Aura Frames is a great upgrade from your typical Mother's Day flowers. Trust me, I know this. I got an aura frame from my mother in law last Mother Day. She loved it. That's because flowers, they're nice, but they only last a few days. The perfect gift is one that lasts a lifetime. And that gift is Aura Frames. Aura frames are a great way to share all your favorite memories. From birthdays to vacations to kids sporting events and everything in between. There's free unlimited storage that allows you to add as many photos and videos as you want. My favorite part of Aura Frames is how easy it is to preload photos before it ships. You can keep adding photos and videos from anywhere, anytime. It's really awesome and it's perfect for Mother's day. A gift box is included. Every frame comes packaged in a premium gift box with no price tag. Name number one by wirecutter. You can save on gifts for your mom or your mother in law by visiting or frames.com for a limited time. Listeners can get 25 off their best selling Carver matte frame with code Bulwark takes. That's a U R A frames.com promo code. Bulwarktakes support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions do apply.

[Will Salatin]

So this has probably happened to all of us at the Bulwark and a lot of folks who are watching. After a year and a half, year and a quarter of this administration, my standards for what's good news have changed. Right? So maybe Sam, the benign interpretation is they're doing they launch these so called investigations. Not to actually investigate and prosecute, but they just do it for the pr. Hence the Fox News crew.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, yeah.

[Will Salatin]

Maybe the most benign thing is they did this to get the media hit of hey, we're investigating her, she's a crook. Maybe we did we smear her with that. And they don't actually follow through. But let's see.

[Sam Stein]

I don't know. It is. It's a weird one that they just happen to be there. All right, there is another story again involving the FBI that is complimentary to this, which is that Mississippi now has reported, or reported this morning that the FBI is investigating the leaks, that they've launched a criminal leak investigation, focusing on, and I'm quoting from Ms. Now here, focusing on an Atlantic magazine journalist who wrote a deeply unflattering account last month of Director Cash Patel's work habits. That's according to two people familiar with the matter. A couple things before I kick a T. Well, one is, what was the Atlantic story originally? It was about how Cash would drink a little bit, how he got locked out of his computer system, how he was paranoid about being fired from the FBI, how he basically didn't have the respect of his peers in the building. The Atlantic story relied on, like, something like 17 anonymous sources. It was incredibly well reported. Cash sued over it. Instantaneously. The Atlantic has stood by its report reporting. They've argued and said that subsequently, after the initial story, more people have come forward to corroborate what they had reported. So they feel very firm in the reporting. The FBI is now is denying that they are looking into the journalist. The spokesperson said that this is a classic case where reporters rely on anonymous sources. This is according to Ben Williamson, FBI spokesperson. Quote, every time there's a publication of false claims by anonymous sources that gets called out, the media plays the victim via investigations that do not exist. However, and we'll put up the statement here, Jeffrey Goldberg, who's the editor in chief of the Atlantic, warned that if this is true and they're looking into it, quote, it would represent an outrageous attack on the free press and the First Amendment itself. We will defend the Atlantic and its staff vigorously. We will not be intimidated by illegitimate investigations or other acts of politically motivated retaliation. I mean, this is another one where it's, like, tough to know what to make of it. But. Yeah. What do you make of it?

[Will Salatin]

The first thing I just want to point out is there's a kind of a funny Russian doll thing going on in this investigation. So go on. The original. So, so. So the original report on Patel, the Atlantic report cited, they said, like, two dozen sources, Right? Right. So apparently. So. Remember, the administration's position on stories like this is they're all bullshit. They don't exist. Your sources are fake. But then we're going to, like, investigate you because we Think somebody leaked you. Right. So like thereby validating the story. Right. Yeah, but then the killer, the killer for me is. So this is the Ms. Now story. It says, talks about, refers, cites to sources to people familiar with the matter. And then it says this about the FBI agents who are investigating the leak. Right. There is, there's deep concern about this approach among some of the FBI agents assigned to the matter, said the sources. And of course the FBI is saying, you know, this, this investigation doesn't exist. Clearly, clearly, Sam, the leaks are coming from the agents who are assigned to investigate the leak of the information about Patel. So like the whole bureau, there seem to be like actual normal, honorable people who are very uncomfortable with this politicization of their bureau and they're now leaking about the investigation of the.

[Sam Stein]

Well, there was a little chestnut in there to that end, which is. And it's in the second graph. I mean they put it right there. They said the agents involved. So this, the sources said the so called insider threat investigation is highly unusual because it did not stem from a disclosure of classified information because it focused on leaks to a reporter. The agents involved are part of an insider threats unit based in Huntsville, Alabama. The sources added, the reporters on this piece are Kendallinian and Carolinian, two of the best in the business. And I trust them instinctively. I don't think they put in the Huntsville thing accidentally. I think they signaled that was an easy signal for them to say we have the goods. Like we know what we're talking about.

[Will Salatin]

Right.

[Sam Stein]

We even know where the investigation is coming from. It's not like some amorphous. We're looking into it and we've like, you know, dug up some stuff on the reporter for the Atlantic. It's like, no, this is the unit out in the hinterlands in Alabama that's doing the investigation.

[Will Salatin]

Yeah. Although they've the. I think the FBI's moved a whole bunch of its operations to Huntsville.

[Sam Stein]

Sure. But they were very specific and precise about where the investigation was coming from. They were not. They're not hiding the ball. It said to me, it screamed to me that they have the goods.

[Will Salatin]

Right, Right. So I don't know, Sam, does the next. What's the next Russian doll? Is it like, well, I'm confused.

[Sam Stein]

Are you going small to big or big to inner?

[Will Salatin]

I'm confused myself. But like it's just iterations of like, are they now going to investigate the Ms. Now report?

[Sam Stein]

They got to investigate who leaked, the

[Will Salatin]

government who are talking to the FBI, people who are leaking about the. I mean it Just goes on and on.

[Sam Stein]

It's a Russian dollar or it's Christopher Nolan's inception. It's one of those.

[Will Salatin]

Inception.

[Sam Stein]

There we go.

[Will Salatin]

There it is. But I gotta say so again, I'm looking for the pony here. It's a little bit heartening to me to know that despite all the political purges that have gone on under this administration, there are still people who are inside places like the FBI that do law enforcement, who could be doing evil, who clearly talking to the press because they're very uncomfortable with the evil that's being done in their name and which they're being told to do.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah. Well, that actually brings me to my last clip, which is there's divisions in the FBI, clearly. And. And I don't even think it's like liberal progressive or like Democrat, Republican. I think there are careerists and serious people who probably are fine with Trump, who are uncomfortable with Cash Patel. And Cash Patel, he also talks to the press. He talks in public to the press. And you can see there's like sort of a paranoia about him, even if he's trying to hide it and stress that he. None of this stuff is happening. So I want to play the clip. He was talking to Sean Hannity for Hannity's new show called Hang out with Hannity. They got to talking about burn rooms and just listen to this clip. And. And I want to. I don't think you've seen. I want to get your reaction on the other side.

[Will Salatin]

Explain a burn bag.

[Ad Narrator]

It's basically a large paper bag that you use to destroy and literally shred and burn classified information. So we not only found burn bags in a room that was locked away in.

[Sam Stein]

FBI had.

[Will Salatin]

And they weren't burned.

[Ad Narrator]

They weren't burned. But the room was also off the map. It wasn't on our blueprint, and nobody had access to it.

[Will Salatin]

So how did you find it?

[Ad Narrator]

Well, that's what we do. That's what I do. I know that these people put it in places for us to never find.

[Sam Stein]

What?

[Will Salatin]

I shouldn't laugh. I shouldn't laugh. It's very dangerous to have this person, Sam, you and I know. I mean, Kash Patel, when he was outside government, was a crackpot and a conspiracy theorist. He was an election denier. And now he's been put in charge of the FBI and he's just doing his crack pottery inside the bureau. And he's still claiming that he. There's stuff that he. That that's being hidden from him as the FBI director.

[Sam Stein]

Not just stuff. An entire room that did wasn't in the, wasn't in the blueprint handed to him or something. It's, it's, it's, it's wild stuff. He's, he's got conspiracies on the mind. But yeah, I mean, this is to your point, Will. It's. It. There are people in the FBI who clearly are leaking. There are people in the FBI who clearly are distrustful of Patel, and I think Patel's clearly distrustful of them and it's making for a fairly rancid situation.

[Will Salatin]

Yeah. You know, there was one of the things in the Ms. Now story that's kind of interesting and related to this is they said under the, in the Biden administration, Merrick Garland put rules in place that were supposed to prevent this kind of politicization of the department. And the rules required that before the bureau can do all kinds of stuff to reporters and whatnot, they have to go. They have to get approval from the attorney general or the deputy attorney general. Yeah, well, that's, no, that does not protect you if you have corrupt people appointed as the attorney general and the deputy attorney general, which is what we now have in Todd Blanche and, you know, and in Kash Patel. You cannot have all of these bureaucratic procedures that we've invented to prevent political investigations. Politicized investigations do not work when you have crackpots like Patel who've been put in positions of.

[Sam Stein]

I would just say that's such an important point and that's what really is like the more the most chilling element of this. Like you can build up all this sort of padding to protect against this stuff. You can pass all these post Watergate reforms. You can, you know, put in place the, you know, the most strong ethical or ethics legislation that you can come up with. And it doesn't matter if you have bad faith actors who just want to tear down the system. And that's time and time again what we're seeing. Anyways, okay, we'll be monitoring what's happening with the FBI in Portsmouth and how, you know, how the Fox News London correspondent is faring on her vacation to Virginia Beach. I hope she's having a good time there. And we'll be monitoring what's going on with the Atlantic in this story. This is, it's, it's comical. I mean, we laugh about it, but it's like deeply serious stuff and we're going to be taking it seriously. Will, thanks for jumping on on this tight deadline. Really appreciate it. For those who are watching, thanks for watching. Subscribe to the Bulwark support stuff like this for bull work takes. Also, we got live shows coming up in LA and San Diego May 20th and May 21st. If you want tickets to those, go to the bulwark.com events.