Joshua Kaplan

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Joshua Kaplan is a reporter at ProPublica. Since joining the newsroom in January 2020, he has reported on the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and misconduct by undercover police officers in New York City, among other subjects.

Kaplan’s work with colleagues at ProPublica has received national honors including a George Polk Award, an Edward R. Murrow Award and the Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting. He holds a degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago.

A “Delicate Matter”: Clarence Thomas’ Private Complaints About Money Sparked Fears He Would Resign

Interviews and newly unearthed documents reveal that Thomas, facing financial strain, privately pushed for a higher salary and to allow Supreme Court justices to take speaking fees.

The Supreme Court Has Adopted a Conduct Code, but Who Will Enforce It?

Experts say it is unclear if the new rules, which come after reporting by ProPublica and others revealed that justices had repeatedly failed to disclose gifts and travel from wealthy donors, would address the issues raised by the recent revelations.

It’s Not Personal: Why Clarence Thomas’ Trip to the Koch Summit Undermines His Ethics Defense

Even by Thomas’ own permissive interpretation, the justice’s recently revealed travel to Palm Springs and the Bohemian Grove appear to violate the disclosure law, experts explained.

Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events

Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.

Clarence Thomas Acknowledges Undisclosed Real Estate Deal With Harlan Crow and Discloses Private Jet Flights

The new filing comes after ProPublica’s reporting on the Supreme Court justice’s beneficial relationship with the billionaire GOP megadonor. Thomas also reported three private jet trips provided by Crow.

Senators Ask Billionaire Paul Singer and Power Broker Leonard Leo for Full Accounting of Gifts to Supreme Court Justices

The letters cite ProPublica’s reporting on an undisclosed private jet flight and Alaska fishing vacation provided to Justice Samuel Alito.

Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court

In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself.

Clarence Thomas’ Friend Acknowledges That Billionaire Harlan Crow Paid Tuition for the Child Thomas Was Raising “as a Son”

In response to ProPublica reporting, the friend said Crow covered two years of schooling for the teen, which would amount to roughly $100,000 of undisclosed gifts. Meanwhile, Democrats renewed calls for judicial ethics overhaul.

Clarence Thomas Had a Child in Private School. Harlan Crow Paid the Tuition.

Crow paid for private school for a relative Thomas said he was raising “as a son.” “This is way outside the norm,” said a former White House ethics lawyer.

Billionaire Harlan Crow Bought Property From Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose the Deal.

The transaction is the first known instance of money flowing from Crow to the Supreme Court justice. The sale netted the GOP megadonor two vacant lots and the house where Thomas’ mother was living.

Congress Members Announce Hearing, Demand Chief Justice Investigate Clarence Thomas’ Trips

The lawmakers said the chief justice was duty-bound to conduct a “swift, thorough, independent and transparent investigation” of Thomas’ undisclosed travel with billionaire Harlan Crow in order to “safeguard public faith in the judiciary.”

Clarence Thomas Defends Undisclosed “Family Trips” With GOP Megadonor. Here Are the Facts.

In response to a ProPublica report, Thomas explained why he did not disclose lavish travel provided by billionaire Harlan Crow. But legal experts maintain the justice was required to make these disclosures.

Lawmakers Call for Investigation and Ethics Reforms in Response to ProPublica Report on Clarence Thomas

Influential Democratic legislators are pushing for changes at the Supreme Court and a probe into Thomas’ undisclosed luxury trips provided by powerful conservative donor Harlan Crow.

Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire

Island-hopping on a superyacht. Private jet rides around the world. The undisclosed gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the Supreme Court. “It’s incomprehensible to me that someone would do this,” says one former judge.

They Were Trying to Help Run Elections. Then They Got Criminally Investigated.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton hasn’t just been pursuing supposed voter fraud. His office has also criminally investigated at least 10 election workers, in a harbinger of potential post-midterm turmoil.

How Ron DeSantis Blew Up Black-Held Congressional Districts and May Have Broken Florida Law

DeSantis’ move, secretly aided by GOP-linked national operatives, came over the objections of the Republican-controlled state legislature.

How the U.S. Has Struggled to Stop the Growth of a Shadowy Russian Private Army

Vladimir Putin has increasingly relied on the Wagner Group, a private and unaccountable army with a history of human rights violations, to pursue Russia’s foreign policy objectives across the globe.

Hell at Abbey Gate: Chaos, Confusion and Death in the Final Days of the War in Afghanistan

In firsthand accounts, Afghan civilians and U.S. Marines describe the desperate struggle to flee through the Kabul airport’s last open entrance. U.S. officials knew an attack was coming. Then a suicide bomber killed and injured hundreds.

House Committee Issues Subpoena to Top Trump Fundraiser Kimberly Guilfoyle

Guilfoyle, fiancee of Donald Trump Jr., boasted in text messages that she raised $3 million for the Jan. 6 rally. The demand for legal documents and a deposition is the first for a member of the Trump family’s inner circle.

Suicide Bomber Who Killed U.S. Troops and Afghans “Likely” Used Unguarded Route to Kabul Airport Gate

Paths left unsecured by U.S. military sped the evacuation of American citizens and Afghan allies. The attack killed 13 U.S. service members and scores of civilians.

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