The FBI opened 1,200 probes related to politicians, journalists, religious leaders, academics and others tied to “sensitive investigative matters,” using a special investigative tool that requires no factual predicate to launch, according to a Government Accountability Office report.The GAO report, which was obtained by Just the News, was published last month but not made public, and it was titled FBI Investigative Activities: Oversight Efforts of Opening and Conducting Assessments Should be Strengthened.
The report, which assists in congressional oversight of the executive branch, provided details on the roughly 127,000 FBI “assessments” in all opened from 2018 to 2024, the vast majority of which were eventually closed without accusations of wrongdoing or criminal charges against those targets being scrutinized.
The 57-page report did not include any names of those targeted for assessment.
Among the total assessments, 1,200 were related to “sensitive investigative matters” that target public officials, news organizations, houses of worship or members of academia, which the bureau views as more sensitive in nature.
So-called “assessments” were established by Justice Department guidelines in 2008, providing the FBI with an investigative tool short of opening a full-fledged investigation requiring a factual predicate.
The probes are used by the bureau to “address a potential threat to national security or potential violation of federal criminal law,” the congressional watchdog said. They allow FBI agents to open probes on authorized matters but without a factual basis and allow them to employ investigative such techniques as physical surveillance on subjects.
If sufficient basis is found, assessments can turn into preliminary investigations, full investigations or enterprise investigations. But most assessments are closed without meeting the standards for a full inquiry by the bureau, the GAO said.
The revelations were detailed in the GAO’s January 2026 report, which was designated “For Official Use Only” because of the sensitive information it contains. GAO noted that the report should be “safeguarded when not being used and destroyed when no longer needed.”
Copies were sent only to the appropriate congressional committees, the U.S. attorney general and the FBI director on a need-to-know basis. The report was first reported on by Racket News and is being made public by Just the News.
You can read the report below:
Politicians, journalists, religious leaders and academics scrutinized
Though over 100,000 special probes were produced during the timeframe of GAO’s review, a special subset of assessments was designated as dealing with “Sensitive Investigative Matters” – or SIMs – which involve special categories of targets that could present additional challenges. These special assessments made up roughly 1,200 of the total number of assessments conducted from 2018 to 2024.
The categories include “domestic public officials or domestic political candidates (involving corruption or a threat to national security), religious or domestic political organizations or an individual prominent in such organizations, the news media, an investigative matter with an academic nexus, or any other matter which, in the judgment of the official authorizing the assessment, should be brought to the attention of FBI headquarters and other DOJ officials.”
Assessments designated as a SIM have additional review and approval requirements before they can be opened or continued, the GAO said.
Over 500 SIM assessments in that roughly seven-year period were aimed at “public officials,” over 150 targeted religious organizations or prominent members thereof, over 100 targeted political organizations or members thereof, and over 50 targeted news media organizations or journalists, the data compiled by the GAO shows.
The watchdog review focused on two main categories of FBI assessments, titled “Type I/II” assessments and “Type III” assessments. Type I/II assessments typically “seek information, proactively or in response to investigative leads, relating to activities – or the involvement or role of individuals, groups or organizations relating to those activities – constituting violations of federal criminal law or threats to the national security.”
The duration of those types of assessments is allegedly expected to be “relatively short.”
The special Type I/II probes targeting potentially politically and constitutionally sensitive targets were also unique. The watchdog found that assessments targeting these categories of individuals or groups were converted into actual, predicated investigation at a higher rate than the average assessment. About half, 48%, were converted to an investigation.
The congressional watchdog said that Type III assessments generally “identify, obtain, and utilize information about actual or potential national security threats or federal criminal activities, or the vulnerability to such threats or activities.” This assessment type is allowed to last “as long as necessary to achieve its authorized purpose and clearly defined objective(s).”
Type III assessments were unique in a different way. For these, the FBI only converted 4% of the roughly 100 Type III SIM assessments into full investigations.
Each type of probe could last on average 60 to 180 days, the files show.
Yet the vast majority of the roughly 127,000 assessments did not lead to a follow-on investigation by the bureau, the GAO said, noting that “of the approximate 124,000 Type I/II and 3,000 Type III assessments the FBI opened and subsequently closed, the agency closed roughly 86 percent of Type I/II and 94 percent of Type III assessments without referring them for further investigations.”
FBI officials told the GAO that “many investigative leads that prompt assessments are determined to not be credible, resulting in staff often closing assessments without opening a subsequent investigation.”
GAO assessment triggered by bipartisan concern about FBI trampling on rights
In March 2022, then-Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Jamie Raskin, D-Md., along with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., requested GAO review the FBI’s “practice of surveilling subjects” through “assessments” – raising concerns such probes were not predicated on facts or evidence as in a traditional investigation and alleging the program resulted in improper monitoring of “protected First Amendment” activities.
“We are concerned that FBI assessments operate as de facto investigations that can be launched without a factual predicate of criminal wrongdoing,” Raskin and Mace wrote in the letter, which triggered the review. “We ask that GAO examine whether assessments result in the improper monitoring of protected First Amendment activity—including by political, racial, or religious organizations—and whether the FBI has sufficient controls in place to ensure that they do not run afoul of constitutional protections.”
You can read the congressional letter below:
