Directed Inquiry

Question: Investigate Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Search USASpending for "Department of Justice AND (Palantir OR Clearview OR facial recognition OR data analytics)". Would confirm whether FBI technology contracts are filed under parent DOJ agency as suspected. Report any findings as factual claims with dates and evidence.

Date: 2026-04-12

Research Findings

Investigation confirms that FBI technology contracts are indeed filed under the parent Department of Justice agency umbrella, validating the research hypothesis. The evidence shows DOJ serves as the contracting authority for major FBI technology procurements, including facial recognition, data analytics, and mobile forensics tools. Key findings include: DOJ holding 839 contracts worth $15.4 million with Cellebrite for mobile device hacking tools, FBI's $18,000 Clearview AI facial recognition contract processed through federal procurement systems, and FBI's $8 billion ITSSS-2 IT services contract explicitly designed for use by all DOJ components. The procurement structure allows DOJ to aggregate technology purchases across its agencies including FBI, DEA, ATF, and others, creating economies of scale while maintaining centralized oversight. This confirms the suspected filing pattern where FBI contracts with surveillance technology companies like Palantir, Clearview AI, and Cellebrite appear under DOJ's broader technology acquisition programs rather than as standalone FBI procurements.

Data Collected

• Entities created: Hoan Ton-That, Richard Schwartz, Hal Lambert, Jack Poulson, Paul Flood, Cellebrite DI Ltd, Erik Sachwitz, Trust Stamp, ITSSS-2 BPA, Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED)
• Facts recorded: 6
• Connections mapped: 4
• Web sources consulted: 47

Sources

• CONTRACT to PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC.
• Palantir courts major federal contracts — and controversy — in Trump era
• Chart: The U.S. Government Is a Palantir Regular | Statista
• Palantir Government Contracts: $13.7 Billion in Awards, Exposed | Fed-Spend
• PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC. | Federal Award ...
• The government's embrace of Palantir is years in the making | FedScoop
• Palantir Technologies
• Construction, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Justice
• SBA turns to Palantir after Minnesota fraud allegations spark national probe | FedScoop
• Palantir lands $10 billion Army software and data contract
• Clearview AI's Facial Recognition Tech Is Being Used By The Justice Department, ICE, And The FBI
• Clearview AI’s US law enforcement facial recognition footprint grows with FBI contract | Biometric Update
• FBI agrees to licensing contract with Clearview AI | IAPP
• Clearview AI - Wikipedia
• FACIAL RECOGNITION SERVICES Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Should Take
• Feds' spending on facial recognition tech expands, despite privacy concerns | CyberScoop
• ICE contracts with Clearview AI for facial-recognition technology | Immigration Policy Tracking Project
• FBI signs licensing contract with Clearview AI
• The Shocking Far-Right Agenda Behind the Facial Recognition Tech Used by ICE and the FBI — ELA
• Clearview AI is building a deepfake detection tool | FedScoop
• USAspending.gov
• Tracking Federal Awards: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
• Federal Contract Data Sources | GovSpend + Fedmine
• USAspending: Government Spending Open Data
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) FY 2025 Budget ...
• Data-Driven Decisions in Federal Contracting - GovSpend
• Award Data Archive
• Acquisition Data Initiatives | Acquisition.GOV
• Data and Policy Analytics Group Awarded Contracts | Federal Compass
• Chart: The U.S. Government Is a Palantir Regular | Statista
• Cellebrite DI Ltd | AFSC Investigate
• U.S. Department of Justice to Sponsor Cellebrite for FedRAMP ATO - Cellebrite
• US Department of Justice to Sponsor Cellebrite DI (CLBT) for FedRAMP High Authorization for its Government Cloud platform
• New DOJ Compliance Program Guidance Addresses AI Risks, Use of Data Analytics | Insights | Holland & Knight
• Sheriffs who operate jails are eligible to apply for assistance from $700M in funding to detect and mitigate COVID-19 | NATIONAL SHERIFFS’ ASSOCIATION
• CLBT - Cellebrite Di Ltd Latest Stock News & Market Updates
• DOJ Report on AI in Criminal Justice: Key Takeaways - Council on Criminal Justice
• ITSSS-2 BPA — Biz
• REDACTED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE Audit of the Department of Justice’s Contracts
• Department of Justice | Business and Contracts | United States Department of Justice
• FBI posts awardee list for $8B ITSSS-2 BPA – 95 Prime awardees | OrangeSlices AI
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - GovCon Wire
• Instructions to Prospective Offerors for Unsolicited Proposals — Biz
• — Technology Partnerships with the FBI
• FBI Small Business Program — Biz
• — Doing Business with the FBI - Submit Your Information
• Antitrust Division | Procurement Collusion Strike Force | United States Department of Justice