Explosive fraud allegations in Minnesota and California are shaking Democratic leadership—and this episode of On Background breaks it all down. Investigative journalist Susan Crabtree explains why Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s sudden exit may be tied to massive fraud scandals and mounting political pressure from Amy Klobuchar.

Then comes California, where Crabtree draws chilling parallels to Gavin Newsom, detailing alleged failures involving homelessness spending, wildfire recovery, utilities, COVID relief, and education funding. She argues that audits were blocked, accountability was avoided, and entrenched political interests benefited. In the meantime, the legacy media largely looked the other way.

As federal scrutiny intensifies, Crabtree predicts 2026 will be a year of investigations, whistleblowers, and political reckoning for one-party rule.

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In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers are joined by former FBI Special Agent Rich Staropoli to expose the catastrophic breakdown in security and leadership following the Brown University shooting. From delayed alerts and missing camera footage to the complete absence of command authority, the response was disorganized, unserious, and dangerous. Officials prioritized optics over action, messaging over manhunts, and political caution over public safety. Staropoli explains why this was not confusion but institutional failure, and why these same patterns are now spreading nationwide. This episode lays out exactly what went wrong, who is responsible, and why these failures will continue unless they are confronted directly.

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In this episode, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers unpack the chaotic and fast-moving revelations surrounding the arrest of alleged J6 pipe bomber Brian Cole Jr. They highlight contradictions in FBI narratives, questions about the timing of the arrest after five years, and concerns about the involvement of DOJ prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine, previously accused of attempting to coerce false confessions in Proud Boys cases. The hosts scrutinize media spin, disputed claims that Cole is a “right-wing election denier,” and potential motives that appear inconsistent with his background. They explore whistleblower leaks, possible institutional bias, and the FBI’s history of questionable investigations while stressing the need for evidence-based scrutiny. Follow on X!

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