WASHINGTON —

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether police officials in Washington, D.C., have falsified data to make crime rates appear lower than they are, according to a person familiar with the probe who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss an open investigation.

The investigation comes amid an escalating — and political — showdown between the Trump administration and the city over control of the police department. It wasn't immediately clear what federal laws could have been violated by the possible manipulation of crime data.

President Donald Trump claimed that violent crime in Washington is getting worse as he ordered a federal takeover of the city's police department, flooding the streets with hundreds of National Guard members. But he exaggerated or mi

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