White House Admits Manipulating DC Crime Data Amid DOJ Investigation

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt admitted that the Trump administration "reconfigured" crime statistics in Washington, D.C. to support President Trump's narrative of a rising crime wave, despite official data showing crime is actually declining sharply. This revelation has sparked controversy and led to a Justice Department criminal investigation into allegations of data manipulation by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, including claims that crimes were downgraded to appear less severe. President Trump accused D.C. officials of providing "fake crime numbers" to create a false perception of safety, justifying his deployment of federal agents and the National Guard to the city. Critics argue the administration's motive is less about reducing crime and more about imposing authoritarian control, while city officials maintain that violent crime has dropped significantly in recent years. The investigation follows the suspension of an MPD commander suspected to be involved in the alleged data falsification. Leavitt's defense included dismissing local crime maps as unreliable, further fueling accusations of spreading misinformation.