Behind the Bastards

Part One: How The FBI Botched The Olympic Park Bombing

September 30, 2025

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The episode of Behind the Bastards, "Part One: How The FBI Botched The Olympic Park Bombing," will focus on two stories where law enforcement and the media wrongly accused innocent people, with the FBI and the justice system being the primary antagonists. 
  • The discussion introduces Stephen Hatfill, a Trump administration advisor and virologist, as a figure who was wrongfully accused in a separate incident (the 2001 anthrax attacks) and whose subsequent radicalization is partly attributed to the media and justice system's failures. 
  • Richard Jewell, the security guard who discovered the bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Park, is introduced as the protagonist of the first story, whose lifelong desire to be a police officer was complicated by his overzealous nature and subsequent wrongful targeting by the FBI after the bombing. 
  • The Atlanta Journal Constitution published an article naming Richard Jewell as the FBI's primary suspect, driven by a profit motive and an editor prioritizing sensationalism over ethical sourcing, despite the FBI's internal policy against unsourced leaks. 
  • FBI Director Louis Free, eager to prove the Bureau's competence following previous failures, aggressively pushed subordinates to confirm Richard Jewell as the culprit, leading to abusive behavior when leads proved false. 
  • Richard Jewell's life was destroyed for three months by intense media scrutiny and FBI surveillance despite never being charged, highlighting the severe malpractice of reporting on an uncharged suspect. 

Segments

Introduction and Guest Plug
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(00:00:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Courtney Kosak is introduced as the guest for the episode of Behind the Bastards, promoting her debut memoir, “Girl Gone Wild.”
  • Summary: The podcast opens with standard greetings and the introduction of guest Courtney Kosak. Kosak mentions she has been working on her book, a coming-of-age memoir titled “Girl Gone Wild,” which is available for pre-order and set for release in March. The host signals a transition to the episode’s main topic, noting it is a ‘weird one’ for the show.
Introducing Stephen Hatfill as Bastard
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(00:02:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Stephen Hatfill, a biological weapons expert and former Trump advisor, is identified as the ‘bastard’ for the week, despite the episode focusing on the FBI’s failures.
  • Summary: Stephen Hatfill is introduced as a special advisor to the Trump administration with a background as a pathologist and biological weapons expert. Hatfill became known for advocating hydroxychloroquine during the COVID-19 pandemic and reportedly prioritized election fraud investigation over pandemic response in late 2020. The host notes that while Hatfill is a ‘bad person’ due to his actions, he serves as the protagonist in the story because the FBI and media destroyed his life through wrongful accusation.
FBI and Media Failures Context
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(00:04:32)
  • Key Takeaway: The core theme of the episode is the systemic failure of the FBI, the justice system, and the media in high-profile cases, leading to the wrongful accusation of innocent individuals.
  • Summary: The narrative framework for the episode involves two terrorist attacks where law enforcement and journalists wrongly targeted innocent people. The central evil identified is the feedback loop between police rushing to name a suspect and the media prioritizing sensational content over accuracy. Richard Jewell is confirmed as one of these wrongfully accused individuals.
Richard Jewell’s Background
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(00:09:10)
  • Key Takeaway: Richard Jewell, who idolized law enforcement, had a history of overzealous adherence to rules, leading to his departure from the police force and subsequent employment as a campus security guard.
  • Summary: Richard Jewell was born Richard White, adopted by John Jewell, and possessed a strong desire to become a police officer, evidenced by his ‘cop mustache’ phenotype. After stopping a robbery at a TCBY shop, he eventually became a deputy in 1991, but was sidelined due to his strict adherence to the law, which clashed with the ‘good old boys’ culture of the rural department. He was demoted after a car crash and resigned, later taking a job as a campus cop where his strict enforcement of minor rules led to constant complaints.
Digression on Police Misconduct
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(00:17:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Data indicates that police officers frequently break the law, with simple assault, DUI, and sex crimes being common charges, while perjury and falsifying records are the most common uncharged offenses.
  • Summary: The host asserts that police have no legal duty to protect people and frequently break the law, citing a study showing police crimes are not uncommon. The most frequent crimes police are arrested for include simple assault and DUI, and 10% of cases involved sex crimes, sometimes against minors. Lying under oath (’testa lying’) is cited as the most common crime committed by police, often to secure convictions, leading some jurisdictions like NYC to maintain secret databases of untrustworthy officers.
Olympic Park Bombing Discovery
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(00:38:38)
  • Key Takeaway: Richard Jewell’s diligence as a security guard at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics led him to spot an unattended green military-style backpack, which he reported, leading to the evacuation of the immediate area before the pipe bomb detonated.
  • Summary: Jewell, treating his security guard job with the seriousness of a police officer, noticed rowdy behavior near the Bud World event and then spotted the unattended backpack. After confirming no one claimed the bag, he and a GBI agent began clearing a 25-foot radius around it. Because of this evacuation, the subsequent explosion killed two people and injured 111, but likely saved dozens more lives that would have been in the blast radius.
FBI Investigation Begins
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(00:47:20)
  • Key Takeaway: Jewell immediately became the focus of the FBI investigation due to a tip from his former boss at Piedmont College, who disliked Jewell’s zealous behavior, leading the FBI to suspect the hero was actually the bomber.
  • Summary: Jewell’s former college boss, Ray Clear, called the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) out of spite, suggesting Jewell’s attention-seeking behavior warranted scrutiny, which was then passed to the FBI. The FBI quickly shifted focus to Jewell, viewing him as a potential bomber who staged the discovery to become a hero, especially given the Bureau’s recent high-profile failures like Waco and Oklahoma City.
Jewell’s Post-Investigation Status
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(01:15:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Prosecutors formally cleared Richard Jewell as a suspect via a private letter to his lawyer, not a public announcement.
  • Summary: On October 27th, prosecutors informed Jewell’s lawyer that he was no longer a suspect, but the FBI failed to issue a public media correction. Jewell later sued the Justice Department and settled out of court with several papers, including the Atlanta Journal Constitution, for the trauma inflicted.
Clint Eastwood’s Film Critique
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(01:16:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Clint Eastwood’s film about Richard Jewell falsely depicted reporter Kathy Scruggs sleeping with an FBI agent for the scoop.
  • Summary: The film, popular with conservatives for criticizing the media, invented a defamatory sexual encounter between reporter Kathy Scruggs and an FBI source. This fabrication avoided criticizing the FBI’s role in leaking information and the fundamental profit motive in journalism.
Podcast Wrap-up and Next Episode
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(01:19:15)
  • Key Takeaway: The next episode of Behind the Bastards will cover Steve Hatfield and the anthrax attacks.
  • Summary: The hosts concluded the first part of the series on the Olympic Park Bombing. The next installment will focus on Steve Hatfield and the subsequent anthrax attacks. The episode concluded with standard podcast outro and sponsor plugs.