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Holding Political Actors Accountable

460 stories published since 2016

A Trump Official Tried to Fast-Track Funding for His Friend’s Unproven COVID-19 “Treatment,” Whistleblower Says

by Lisa Song,

The Justice Department Accidentally Released the Name of Saudi Official Suspected of Helping the 9/11 Hijackers

by Tim Golden and Sebastian Rotella,

ProPublica Joins News Organizations in Suing for Small Business Program Loan Info

by Paul Kiel,

Ignoring Trump and Right-Wing Think Tanks, Red States Expand Vote by Mail

by Jessica Huseman and Mike Spies,

These Companies Got Millions in Tax Breaks to Bring Jobs to Youngstown. They Created Next to None.

by Dan O’Brien, The Business Journal,

Why a Struggling Rust Belt City Pinned Its Revival on a Self-Chilling Beverage Can

by Dan O’Brien, The Business Journal,

On the Same Day Sen. Richard Burr Dumped Stock, So Did His Brother-in-Law. Then the Market Crashed.

by Robert Faturechi and Derek Willis,

The Bigoted, Conspiratorial Rants of Rudy Giuliani’s Radio Show

by Alice Wilder, WNYC,

A Conservative Legal Group Significantly Miscalculated Data in a Report on Mail-In Voting

by Derek Willis,

Whether the Ballot You Mail Is Counted May Depend on Where You Vote

by Ryan McCarthy,

Grieving Families Need Help Paying for COVID-19 Burials, but Trump Hasn’t Released the Money

by Lisa Song and Yeganeh Torbati,

Health Insurers to Investors: We’re Good. Health Insurers to Lawmakers: Please Help.

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

Did He Talk About Her? VA Secretary Changes His Story Amid Allegations He Sought Dirt on House Staffer.

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

How Jared Kushner Is Tackling the White House’s Coronavirus Response — Without Any Evident Experience

by Andrea Bernstein, WNYC,

Leaked Recordings Reveal Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Firmly in Charge and City Alderman Left Largely on the Sidelines

by Mick Dumke,

Congress Is Investigating Whether a Ventilator Company Is Gouging the U.S. — and Why the Government Is Letting It Happen

by Patricia Callahan and Sebastian Rotella,

Trump Administration Officials Warned Against Halting Funding to WHO, Leaked Memo Shows

by Yeganeh Torbati,

Attorney General Barr Refuses to Release 9/11 Documents to Families of the Victims

by Tim Golden and Sebastian Rotella,

Millions of Americans Might Not Get Stimulus Checks. Some Might Be Tricked Into Paying TurboTax to Get Theirs.

by Justin Elliott and Paul Kiel,

Senator Richard Burr Sold D.C. Townhouse to Donor at a Rich Price

by Robert Faturechi,

Senate Intel Chair Sold Dutch Fertilizer Stock in 2018, Right Before a Collapse

by Robert Faturechi,

How Tea Party Budget Battles Left the National Emergency Medical Stockpile Unprepared for Coronavirus

by Yeganeh Torbati and Isaac Arnsdorf,

Rural Counties Consider an Alternative Type of Social Distancing — Kicking Chicago Out of Illinois

by Logan Jaffe and Duaa Eldeib,

We’re Making Public Records Requests to Help Us Cover the Coronavirus. Tell Us What We Should Be Asking For.

by Kirsten Berg,

The White House Asked Manufacturers for Help, Then Gave Them No Clear Instructions

by Yeganeh Torbati,

The Senator Who Dumped His Stocks Before the Coronavirus Crash Has Asked Ethics Officials for a “Complete Review”

by Robert Faturechi and Derek Willis,

Here’s Why Florida Got All the Emergency Medical Supplies It Requested While Other States Did Not

by Lydia DePillis, Mike Spies, Joshua Kaplan, Kyle Edwards and Caroline Chen,

Senator Dumped Up to $1.7 Million of Stock After Reassuring Public About Coronavirus Preparedness

by Robert Faturechi and Derek Willis,

No, President Trump, the Coronavirus Is Nothing Like H1N1 Swine Flu Either

by Charles Ornstein,

Elections May Have to Change During the Coronavirus Outbreak. Here’s How.

by Rachel Glickhouse,

During Tuesday’s Illinois Primary, Chicago Alderman and Former Firefighter Nicholas Sposato Delivered Pizzas at the Polls as His Ward Office Remained Open

by Mick Dumke,

The RNC Gave Big Contracts to Companies Linked to Its Chairwoman’s Husband and Political Backers

by Mike Spies and Jake Pearson,

Trump’s Company Paid Bribes to Reduce Property Taxes, Assessors Say

by Heather Vogell, ProPublica and Katherine Sullivan, WNYC,

As Commerce Dept. Starts Regulating Some Gun Exports, Experts Worry It Doesn’t Have All the Info It Needs

by Sean Campbell,

Members of Congress Have a New Strategy for Ethics Investigations: Stonewalling

by Robert Faturechi,

Some Election-Related Websites Still Run on Vulnerable Software Older Than Many High Schoolers

by Jack Gillum,

The RNC Stopped Paying a Data Firm After A Serious Breach. Then It Paid A Mysterious LLC With the Same Address.

by Mike Spies and Jake Pearson,

Steve Bannon’s Use of Private Jet Linked to Chinese Businessman Could Violate Campaign Finance Law

by Justin Elliott,

Trump’s New Spy Chief Once Got $100,000 from a Group Funded by the Hungarian Government but Never Reported It

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

The FBI Is Investigating Massive Embezzlement of Border Patrol Union Funds

by A.C. Thompson and Jeff Ernsthausen,

Trump’s New Spy Chief Used to Work for a Foreign Politician the U.S. Accused of Corruption

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

Republican National Committee Obscured How Much It Pays Its Chief of Staff

by Mike Spies, Jake Pearson and Derek Willis,

The Benefits of Being Joe Biden’s Brother

by Daniel Golden, ProPublica, and Chuck Neubauer and Matthew Malone for ProPublica,

A Group of Agents Rose Through the Ranks to Lead the Border Patrol. They’re Leaving It in Crisis.

by Melissa del Bosque,

VA Secretary Looked for Dirt on a House Staffer Who Reported Sexual Assault in a VA Hospital, Complaint Says

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

How Louisiana Lawmakers Stop Residents’ Efforts to Fight Big Oil and Gas

by Sara Sneath, The Times-Picayune | The Advocate,

Iowa’s Lesson: Political Parties Are Not as Good as Government Officials at Counting Votes

by Jessica Huseman, Jack Gillum and Derek Willis,

Local Accountability Journalism Still Has a Huge Impact

by Charles Ornstein,

Donald and Ivanka Trump Were Involved in Inauguration’s Inflated Payments to Family Business, New Suit Says

by Ilya Marritz, WNYC, and Justin Elliott, ProPublica,

Listen to Jared Kushner’s Family Saga

by Andrea Bernstein, WNYC,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

Most Read

    ProPublica Sued the FDA for Withholding Records About the Safety of Generic Drugs

    The agency declined to quickly release documents that would identify drugs made at some of the most troubled foreign factories. The request was part of ProPublica’s ongoing investigation into the safety of America’s generic drug supply.

    by Katherine Dailey and Jessie Nguyen, Medill Investigative Lab,

    Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDA’s Gamble on America’s Drugs

    A ProPublica investigation found that for more than a decade, the FDA gave substandard factories banned from the United States a special pass to keep sending drugs to an unsuspecting public.

    by Debbie Cenziper, Megan Rose, Brandon Roberts and Irena Hwang,

    “The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention

    One year out of college and with no apparent national security expertise, Thomas Fugate is the Department of Homeland Security official tasked with overseeing the government’s main hub for combating violent extremism.

    by Hannah Allam,

    A Racist Harvard Scientist Commissioned Photos of Enslaved People. One Possible Descendant Wants to Reclaim Their Story.

    The images are among the oldest known photographs of enslaved people in America. Tamara Lanier’s fight to gain control of them shows there is no clear system in place to repatriate remains of captive Africans or objects associated with them.

    by Jennifer Berry Hawes,

    Federal Judge Deems Trump Administration’s Termination of NIH Grants Illegal

    In a ruling issued Monday, the judge called the government’s directives “arbitrary and capricious” and ordered funding for some of the NIH grants, including many profiled by ProPublica in recent months, to be restored.

    by Annie Waldman,