NPR Justice Department reporter covers Senate vote on Trump-era attorney general nominee

Ryan Lucas, a journalist covering the Justice Department for NPR, has been listed as a contributor across multiple public radio stations, including WKNO FM in Memphis, Tennessee, WKMS in Murray, Kentucky, and WSIU in Carbondale, Illinois.

Lucas specializes in national security aspects of the Justice Department, including counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and transnational repression. Before joining NPR, he spent a decade as a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press, reporting from Poland, Egypt, and Lebanon. His work in Poland included coverage of the fallout from revelations about secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe. In the Middle East, he reported on the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the Libyan civil war, the Syrian conflict, and the rise of the Islamic State. He also covered the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Islamic State’s takeover of Mosul in 2014. Additionally, Lucas has reported on intelligence and national security for Congressional Quarterly. He holds a bachelor’s degree from The College of William and Mary and a master’s degree from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

His recent reporting includes a federal prosecutor’s lawsuit against the Justice Department, alleging unlawful dismissal for political reasons tied to her work prosecuting anti-abortion activists. Lucas has also covered the nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general, including Republican concerns over a Justice Department settlement tied to former President Trump’s tax returns. Blanche, currently serving as acting attorney general, previously won Senate confirmation as the No. 2 official at the Justice Department early in Trump’s second term. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on Blanche’s nomination on Tuesday, following written assurances from the Justice Department to abandon a controversial $1.8 billion compensation fund.

Lucas’s work has also highlighted other developments, such as FBI Director Kash Patel’s announcement that the bureau disrupted an alleged plot to attack attendees at a UFC fight at the White House. He has reported on efforts to expand a program targeting human smuggling networks and on former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s agreement to plead guilty to mishandling classified information.