By Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski ( ProPublica ) – For a project explicitly designed to influence Congress, Steve Berger’s operation has left a scant paper trail. The archconservative evangelical pastor, who started a D.C. nonprofit a few years ago to shape national policy, does not file lobbying reports. His group does not […]
Ethical Concerns Surround Sen. Joni Ernst’s Relationships With Top Military Officials Who Lobbied Her Committee
By Robert Faturechi | – ( ProPublica ) – Earlier this year, the Air Force revealed that the general who oversaw its lobbying before Congress had inappropriate romantic relationships with five women, including three who worked on Capitol Hill. Maj. Gen. Christopher Finerty’s colleagues told investigators the relationships were “highly inappropriate” as they could give […]
The Trump Administration Said These Aid Programs Saved Lives. It Canceled Them Anyway
by Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Brett Murphy ( ProPublica ) – After the Trump administration moved to freeze nearly $60 billion in foreign aid in January, officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeatedly assured Americans that lifesaving operations would continue. “We don’t want to see anybody die,” he told reporters in early February. Aid […]
Trump Order Shifts the Financial Burden of Climate Change Onto Individuals
By by Abrahm Lustgarten | – ( ProPublica ) – One of President Donald Trump’s most damaging strikes at the foundation of U.S. climate policy is buried deep in a sweeping Inauguration Day executive order focused on “Unleashing American Energy.” Half way through the lengthy document is a directive that would obliterate an obscure but […]
Trump Official Destroying USAID Secretly Met With off-limits Bosnian Serb Islamophobes
By Brett Murphy and Anna Maria Barry-Jester | – ( ProPublica ) – Before Peter Marocco was selected to dismantle America’s entire foreign aid sector on behalf of President Donald Trump, he was an official with the State Department on a diplomatic mission. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, Marocco was a senior political appointee […]
“We’ve Been Essentially Muzzled”: Department of Education Halts Thousands of Civil Rights Investigations Under Trump
By Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen | – ( ProPublica ) – In the three-and-a-half weeks since Donald Trump returned to the presidency, investigations by the agency that handles allegations of civil rights violations in the nation’s schools and colleges have ground to a halt. At the same time, there’s been a dramatic […]
In Breaking USAID, the Trump Administration May Have Broken the Law
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Brett Murphy | – ( ProPublica ) – It was the week President Donald Trump had signed a sweeping executive order shutting off the funding for foreign aid programs. Inside the U.S. Agency for International Development, his political appointees gathered shell-shocked senior staffers for private meetings to discuss the storied […]
“People Will Die”: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid in Sudan, Yemen, etc. That’s Not True
By Brett Murphy and Anna Maria Barry-Jester | – ( ProPublica ) – On Friday morning, the staffers at a half dozen U.S.-funded medical facilities in Sudan who care for severely malnourished children had a choice to make: Defy President Donald Trump’s order to immediately stop their operations or let up to 100 babies and […]
How the State Department Let Israel Get Away With Horrors in Gaza: A Year of Empty Threats and a “Smokescreen” Policy
by Brett Murphy ( ProPublica ) – Empty Threats: Since Oct. 7, 2023, Biden has repeatedly issued threats that Israel ignored. U.S. officials tried to enforce consequences — but they couldn’t. Internal Dissent: The State Department disregarded its own experts and cracked down on leaks. Some human rights officials said they were prevented from pursuing […]
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