On Background with Susan Crabtree

A DEA agent seized fentanyl headed for the streets of Albuquerque. His own government punished him for it. On this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree sits down with Tristan Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight, the law firm representing DEA Special Agent David Howell. Howell blew the whistle on a policy that let hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills keep moving through New Mexico so inv...

John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting joins Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers to talk about performing on the USS Nimitz for America's 250th, bringing a freed hostage on stage to play piano, and why patriotism became a political flashpoint. He explains how a song written after October 7th connected him to hostage families, why he thinks the arts decide the culture war, and what a California flag ban say...

Susan Crabtree and Jed McFatter return to walk through ten figures in Gavin Newsom's political orbit who later faced charges, convictions, or prison. They trace verified election coercion in his first run for San Francisco mayor, the bribery cases reaching into his former staff, and the federal scrutiny now aimed at Jennifer Siebel Newsom's nonprofit and the millions flowing between it and her for...

Newsom says Trump invented an investigation to stop his 2028 run. The truth: prosecutors in Sacramento opened it before Trump took office. A whistleblower came forward last year. His chief of staff already pleaded guilty. Susan Crabtree and Jed McFatter lay out the rest alongside Eric Eggers. 

California's primary is next week and the numbers are wild! A reality TV star is within 1 point of the sitting LA mayor. One Democrat running for governor said on camera that California "needs Chevron" while taking their checks. Another has spent $195 million on ads and is still stuck in the polls. And two Republicans are splitting the vote in a way that may hand the governor's race entirely to De...

Steve Hilton is leading the race for governor of California, and he sat down with Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers to explain why. The numbers tell the story. California ranks 50th out of 50 for opportunity. 50th out of 50 for business climate, ten years in a row. Highest poverty rate, highest unemployment, highest cost of living. Where is the money going? Hilton's Golden Together fraud reports foun...

A gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents Dinner with the President, Vice President, and most of the Cabinet in the same room. The Secret Service Director called the setup “perfect.” On this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers are joined by former House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz to examine what actually happened, what the agency is still hiding, and why a...

Eric Swalwell's exit from the California governor's race was abrupt. But according to Susan Crabtree, it was not unexpected.   In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers trace the years of rumored misconduct that preceded Swalwell's fall, the political calculation behind his implosion, and what it reveals about access journalism in both California and Washington, D.C. They ex...

California's fraud problem is no longer a local story. Federal investigators are now pursuing thousands of cases tied to state-run programs, and Susan Crabtree has been on this story for months.   In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers detail the scope of what they call California's empire of fraud. They cover the DOJ's Never Say Die hospice fraud arrests, the collapse of...

The California governor’s race takes a chaotic turn as a major televised debate collapses under political pressure. In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers examine what led to the cancellation and what it reveals about the state of California politics.   They break down the criteria used to select candidates, the backlash from excluded campaigns, and how internal party div...

Iran tried to kill President Trump in 2024 and the threats remained active. In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers reveal the assassination plots that came within one day of the Butler shooting.   They explore how the FBI arrested Asif Merchant on July 12th at an Iranian safe house where he discussed Trump rally security details. National security officials warned the Sec...

Gavin Newsom stepped on his own book launch this week with contradictory claims about dyslexia that unraveled under basic scrutiny. In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers break down the disastrous week that exposed a pattern of lies defining Newsom's political career. They explore how Newsom told voters he cannot read while video shows him bragging about reading quickly....

The Hunter Biden investigation became one of the most suppressed stories in American history, but the IRS whistleblowers who exposed the truth are finally telling their side. In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers sit down with Tristan Leavitt, President of Empower Oversight, to reveal the two-year saga of bringing Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler's testimony to Congress.   T...

The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has gripped the nation, but now serious questions are being raised about how the investigation is being handled. In this episode of On Background, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers take a closer look at the FBI’s role in the case and whether all available resources are truly being deployed. They explore tensions between federal and local law enforcement, the growing...

California's homelessness scandal explodes in this episode of On Background, as hosts Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers expose how billions in taxpayer dollars vanished into luxury mansions and campaign coffers. The Shangri-La Industries fraud reveals a system where oversight does not exist and political donations buy silence. The company's 28-year-old CFO embezzled millions for a $46,000 monthly ren...

A deadly federal operation turns into a political crisis in Ep. 15 of On Background, as investigative journalist Susan Crabtree and co-host Eric Eggers expose how ICE raids in Minneapolis led to violent attacks against ICE, which in turn led to two deaths, and triggered a leadership shakeup at DHS. After Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer, Secretary Kristi Noem and top aide Corey Lewand...

On this episode of On Background, hosts Susan and Eric are joined by Ryan Tucker of the Alliance Defending Freedom to discuss a disruptive protest inside a church in St. Paul/Minneapolis linked to anti-ICE activism—and the presence of Don Lemon at the scene. The group breaks down why entering a sanctuary to intimidate worshipers crosses a legal and moral line, and how federal authorities may respo...

A stunning national security scandal takes center stage in Ep. 13 of On Background, as investigative journalist Susan Crabtree breaks down a Secret Service sting that exposed shocking lapses in judgment, discipline, and leadership. Crabtree explains how an agent assigned to Vice President J.D. Vance was allegedly compromised in a honeypot operation. This raises urgent questions about manpower shor...

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...

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 opti...

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 Ep. 9, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers interview IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler, who helped expose the Hunter Biden tax case and testified before Congress about political interference and DOJ obstruction. Ziegler recounts early red flags, including blocked interviews, suppressed search warrants, and prosecutors removing references to “political figure one.” He explains how he and supervisor Ga...

In Ep. 8, Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers speak with The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis about The Federalist’s Dow Prize–winning investigation that dismantled the Russia-collusion narrative. Davis recounts early red flags surrounding the Steele dossier, CNN’s role as “patient zero,” and James Comey’s long history of manipulative tactics. He details how the media, intelligence agencies, and politi...

Ep. 7 of On Background examines newly uncovered social-media posts attributed to Trump shooter Thomas Crooks, which contradict initial FBI claims that he had little online presence. Hosts Susan Crabtree and Eric Eggers speak with former Secret Service agents Rich Staropoli and Frank Loveridge, who sharply criticize the FBI and Secret Service for failing to detect Crooks’ online threats and for pro...