Less than a week before the November 3 midterms, MS NOW is reporting that some FBI agents fear the Trump administration will order them to seize voting machines or disrupt the election. The story rests entirely on anonymous sources, and one of its authors had to correct a false claim about the FBI director just weeks ago.

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The report, by Ken Dilanian and Carol Leonnig, cites seven people with knowledge of internal discussions among the ranks, who say some agents fear they may be ordered to seize voting machines or take other actions that disrupt election results. The sources say agents worry they could be ordered to take legally questionable steps to investigate dubious claims of election fraud, and all requested anonymity.

No order is described. No plan is documented. The story is about what agents are afraid might happen.

That has raised a fair question: is this reporting, or narrative-building? Earlier this month, Dilanian reported that sources told him FBI Director Kash Patel had “just landed” in Russia, a claim the director quickly exposed as a basic verification failure. Dilanian later corrected that report. The FBI’s response to the new story was blunt: its Rapid Response account joked that two high-level sources said the concerned agents had “just landed in Russia.”

The timing matters too. The confidential legislators’ guide IFA reported on this week tells activists that online election disinformation peaks in the 10 days before Election Day, and it urges them to “prebunk” federal action before it happens. The MS NOW report also notes that advocates for free and fair elections are preparing ways to advise FBI agents who fear they’ve been assigned an illegal or unethical task. Whatever the reporters intended, a story built on fear of hypothetical orders, published days before the vote, fits that playbook closely.

Fairness requires noting that the administration has left some questions open. The FBI seized ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, in January, and agents took voting equipment and records in Arizona in March. Attorney General Todd Blanche has declined to rule out Justice Department involvement in certification, while saying he has no plans to “improperly interfere with elections.”

But administration officials have also answered on the record. Blanche told Fox News that claims the DOJ’s election monitors would be armed federal agents were “completely false,” and noted that such monitoring programs have been used by administrations since the 1960s. Testifying before the Senate in September, Patel said that the bureau would house its agents and analysts in field offices for election security, and that “the FBI will follow the law.”

On-the-record statements from accountable officials should carry more weight than anonymous fears, especially fears relayed by a reporter whose last FBI scoop fell apart within hours.

Let’s pray that truth would prevail over rumor in these final days before the election. Let’s pray that journalists would verify before they publish, and that stories designed to frighten voters or discredit results would be exposed for what they are. Let’s pray for Director Patel, Attorney General Blanche, and the agents under them, that they would act lawfully, transparently, and with integrity. And let’s pray that no voter stays home out of fear, whether that fear comes from an intimidating presence or from a headline.

What do you make of this report? Share your prayers and scriptures for a truthful, peaceful election in the comments.

(Photo Credit: FBI)