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Josh Kaplan

@josh-kaplan.bsky.social
37K followers 175 following 65 posts

ProPublica reporter | Email me at joshua.kaplan@propublica.org | Contact info & stories here: propublica.org/people/joshua-kaplan

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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/09/2026
Hey, ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson here. I’m taking over the account to tell you about my new story. For months, I posed as a problem gambler on DraftKings to test the company's "responsible gaming" safeguards. Spoiler alert: They made me a VIP — and I lost $10K. Here's how it all went down. 🧵
Selfie taken by ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson, a man wearing a backwards baseball cap and an orange T-shirt.
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Blockbuster story about Susan Collins — a shocking, detailed window into the dark side of money in politics.
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Updates on our Don Jr/Russian oligarch story, with Oversight Dem launching an investigation and President Trump weighing in www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Top Oversight Dem Opens Investigation of Donald Trump Jr.’s Russian Oligarch-Funded Wedding
Rep. Robert Garcia said the revelations that Umar Kremlev had bankrolled the wedding raise “serious national security and public corruption concerns” and requested the president’s son provide financia...
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
NEW: Don Trump Jr’s luxurious wedding was secretly bankrolled by a Russian oligarch close to Putin. A saga involving private islands, the Olympics, and a Russian government-backed biker gang: www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Cut Civilian Protections Over the Objection of Top Commanders
propublica.org
Top Commanders Told Hegseth Not to Cut Civilian Protection Program, Poll Showed. He Did It Anyway.
The U.S. military has killed hundreds of noncombatants since gutting its Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response mission last year. After significant blowback, the Defense Department is considering part...
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
ProPublica @propublica.org · 13/08/2026
NEW: The AAU, one of the country's largest youth sports organizations, is failing on nearly every level to adequately protect children in its care from sexual abuse, a ProPublica and @washingtonpost.com investigation found.
propublica.org
This National Youth Sports Organization Is Failing to Protect Kids From Sexual Abuse
More than a decade after the Amateur Athletic Union promised to implement “historic child protection measures,” it still hasn’t done so, leaving hundreds of thousands of kids at risk. Some AAU athlete...
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
Jesse Coburn @jessecoburn.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
NEW: Flaming robots. Haywire Turkish machines. An actual dumpster fire. General Dynamics received $533 million from the Army to produce artillery but hasn’t made a single usable shell. ProPublica got the inside story of what went wrong. It’s a wild ride: www.propublica.org/article/gene...
propublica.org
Fiasco in the Factory: Taxpayers Funded a $533 Million Artillery Plant That Made Nothing
General Dynamics opened a Texas factory to churn out artillery shells for Ukraine, but the machines kept breaking. Robot arms smashed into things. Hunks of metal crashed to the floor. There was even a...
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
Joaquin Sapien @jbsapien.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
A few weeks ago, after two years of work, I published a story unlike any I’d encountered in my 18 years at ProPublica. I’ve been off social media for a while, but I felt compelled to share some of my reporting journey here. 🧵
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
T. Christian Miller @tchristianmiller.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Alice Sebold, the Lovely Bones author, accused the wrong man of rape years ago. @propublica.org asks the question: so who did it? The answer is an amazing work of journalism, truly stunning in the writing and reporting. Put aside some time. It's a must read must read. By Joaquin Sapien.
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
“Chaps, I have had a go at rewriting the paper.” -Chris Mottershead, BP climate adviser Beyond Denial: How Oil Execs Shaped a Landmark Climate Study @themadstone.bsky.social @amywestervelt.bsky.social @katieworth.bsky.social @drilledmedia.bsky.social @propublica.org
propublica.org
Beyond Denial: How Oil Execs Shaped a Landmark Climate Study
BP sponsored an elite Princeton research center to address the climate problem without getting off fossil fuels. Its key work, a paper known as “Wedges,” guided climate discourse for a generation.
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
NEW: We got a private SpaceX investor list, from way before the IPO. It's a rare window into a particularly delicate issue for Musk: which investors in countries like China got stakes in SpaceX, and how. One investor has ties to Chinese military contractors. www.propublica.org/article/spac...
propublica.org
Before SpaceX IPO, Investors in China Secretly Acquired Stakes
One previously unreported SpaceX investor has ties to Chinese military contractors. The information was revealed only after ProPublica went to court to obtain it.
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
Chris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Imagine if France said they'd help the US with urgently needed medical aid and relief after a disaster, but only if we turned over sensitive medical data for millions of Americans. That's what Trump's State Dept. is doing across Africa. By @fastlerner.bsky.social @annamaria.bsky.social
propublica.org
“Digital Colonialism”: U.S. Demands to Access Africans’ Data Raise Privacy, Sovereignty Concerns
The United States is requiring access to health data as part of lifesaving aid deals with African countries. The U.S. says the data will be aggregated and anonymized, but privacy experts fear the info...
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
NEW: Earlier this year, an obscure startup in Texas announced that it had received at least $100 mil from one of the richest men in Asia. We dug into the backstory. We discovered a saga involving Donald Trump Jr., Russian oil, and an Indian billionaire family’s private zoo.
Donald Trump Jr and Anant Ambani talking to each other in front of an elephant
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
NEW: An Indian billionaire was in Trump’s crosshairs. Then he poured millions into an obscure startup secretly backed by Donald Trump Jr. www.propublica.org/article/trum... w/ @justinelliott.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
propublica.org
An Indian Billionaire Was Targeted by Trump. Then He Poured Money Into a Startup Secretly Backed by Donald Trump Jr.
An obscure Texas firm secretly connected to the president’s son said it received at least $100 million from Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. At the same time, the Ambani family secured major polic...
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Wild story: DOGE meets nuclear reactor safety
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
NEW: Kristi Noem Misled Congress About Top Aide’s Role in DHS Contracts, Internal Agency Records Show www.propublica.org/article/kris...
propublica.org
Kristi Noem Misled Congress About Top Aide’s Role in DHS Contracts
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Noem denied that Corey Lewandowski had any role in approving contracts. But internal DHS records and interviews with current and former agency staffer...
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
Jesse Coburn @jessecoburn.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
NEW: The Trump administration is planning to use AI to write federal regulations despite the risk of hallucinations. “We don't even need a very good rule,” the Transportation Department’s top lawyer said of the plan, per meeting notes reviewed by ProPublica. “We want good enough.”🧵
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Pamela Colloff @pamelacolloff.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Look at the lengths that my incredible @propublica.org colleagues @annamaria.bsky.social and Brett Murphy went to in order to report this story. Please take a moment to read what they found about the effect of USAID cuts on the world's most vulnerable people: www.propublica.org/article/usai...
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
Justin Elliott @justinelliott.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
NEW: Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal www.propublica.org/article/trum... w/ @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
propublica.org
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing ...
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
ProPublica @propublica.org · 24/11/2025
NEW: Senators have called for an investigation after a ProPublica story revealed that Kristi Noem-connected firm the Strategy Group was secretly hired as a subcontractor on a $220 million DHS ad campaign.
propublica.org
Lawmakers Call for Probe of How Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Got Piece of $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The demands for an investigation come after a ProPublica story revealed that the Noem-connected Strategy Group was secretly a subcontractor on the ad campaign.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 14/11/2025
NEW: FBI Director Kash Patel granted waivers to Deputy Director Dan Bongino and two newly hired senior FBI staff, exempting them from polygraph exams normally required to gain access to America’s most sensitive classified information, officials said.
propublica.org
FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff
As the FBI’s deputy director, Bongino receives some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, including the President’s Daily Brief. His ascent to that position without passing a standard bureau backgr...
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
NEW: We’ve uncovered the first known example of taxpayer money flowing from DHS to businesses controlled by Kristi Noem’s allies and friends. It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
Kristi Noem sits on a horse wearing a cowboy hat. In the background is Mount Rushmore.
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Jesse Eisinger @jeisinger.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
JOB ALERT! We are hiring a business editor. You have an unerring instinct for the jugular of the wealthy & powerful? Build a team with me and we’ll get after it! job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j... You can email me or on Signal at 718-496-5233
job-boards.greenhouse.io
Senior Editor, Business
New York City, United States
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
Nicole Foy @nicolefoy.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents. I did it because the government isn’t. This is what I found.
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50+ 
Immigration agents have the authority to detain whom they reasonably suspect are in the country illegally. We found more than 50 Americans who were held after agents questioned their citizenship. They were almost all Latino.

~130
Agents also can arrest citizens who allegedly interfered with or assaulted officers. We compiled cases of about 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, accused of assaulting or impeding officers. 

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Among the citizens detained are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer.
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
NEW: Elon Musk’s SpaceX has taken money directly from Chinese investors, according to newly unsealed testimony. It's the first time direct Chinese investment in the defense contractor has been disclosed. www.propublica.org/article/elon...
propublica.org
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Took Money Directly From Chinese Investors, Company Insider Testifies
The newly unsealed testimony marks the first time direct Chinese investment in the company has been disclosed, raising new questions about foreign ownership interests in one of America’s most importan...
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
ProPublica @propublica.org · 27/09/2025
NEW: Income isn’t supposed to play a role in how much housing assistance FEMA gives families. But in some North Carolina counties, the highest-income homeowners received two to three times as much money after Hurricane Helene as those with lower incomes. With @theassemblync.bsky.social
propublica.org
Arduous and Unequal: The Fight to Get FEMA Housing Assistance After Helene
An analysis by ProPublica and The Assembly of the more rural counties in North Carolina hardest hit by Helene shows that the households that got the most aid tended to have the highest incomes.
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
NEW: Kristi Noem has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA's response to natural disasters. But she fast-tracked $11 million+ to fix a Florida tourist attraction — after one of her big donors reached out. www.propublica.org/article/kris...
propublica.org
Kristi Noem Fast-Tracked Millions in Disaster Aid to Florida Tourist Attraction After Campaign Donor Intervened
The DHS chief has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA’s response after natural disasters. Texts and emails obtained by ProPublica point to an effective way to get help faster: have one of Noe...
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
Robert Faturechi @robert-faturechi.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Horryifying. DOGE made false allegations against an Afghan man who had helped the U.S. Then the Taliban captured, blindfolded and beat his family. www.propublica.org/article/doge...
propublica.org
DOGE Targeted Him on Social Media. Then the Taliban Took His Family.
Afghan scholar Mohammad Halimi, who fled the Taliban in 2021, had worked to help U.S. diplomats understand his homeland. Then DOGE put his family’s lives at risk by exposing his sensitive work for a U...
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
New: Kristi Noem secretly took a cut of political donations. A dark money group routed the funds to Noem's Delaware LLC, tax records show. The original source of the money remains unknown. www.propublica.org/article/kris...
propublica.org
Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations
A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics requirem...
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Brandon Roberts @bxroberts.org · 06/06/2025
THREAD: An ex-DOGE engineer with no government or medical experience used AI to identify which Veterans Affairs contracts to kill, labeling them as “MUNCHABLE.” @vernalcoleman.bsky.social @ericumansky.bsky.social and I got the code. Here’s what it tells us 1/
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Mica Rosenberg @micarosenberg.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
NEW: We obtained DHS data that shows the US knew only 32 of the 238 Venezuelans deported to a prison in El Salvador in March were convicted of US crimes, only 6 of those violent. Trump called them “savages,” “monsters” and "the worst of the worst.” www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
Trump Administration Knew Vast Majority of Venezuelans Sent to Salvadoran Prison Had Not Been Convicted of U.S. Crimes
Homeland Security records reveal that officials knew that more than half of the 238 deportees were labeled as having no criminal record in the U.S. and had only violated immigration laws.
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Reposted by Josh Kaplan
ProPublica @propublica.org · 16/05/2025
THREAD: We recently heard that the Trump administration was leaning on the government of Gambia to help Elon Musk. For weeks, our team made phone calls, wrote letters and knocked on folks’ doors to try to confirm it. But we were stuck. So our reporters got on a plane to Banjul. 1/
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
NEW: Behind closed doors, the Trump administration has mounted a “maximum pressure” campaign on a poor African democracy. The objective: push the country to help Elon Musk's Starlink business. www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
The Trump Administration Leaned on African Countries. The Goal: Get Business for Elon Musk.
The State Department has intervened on behalf of Musk’s satellite internet company in five developing nations. In Gambia, U.S. diplomats have lobbied and browbeat at least seven government ministers a...
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David Armstrong @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
I have written many healthcare stories, but never before have I written about my own health. I decided to do so after learning one of my drugs costs nearly $1,000 a pill and just 25 cents to make. What I found was an incredible story of discovery and exploitation. www.propublica.org/article/revl...
propublica.org
The Price of Remission
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I set out to understand why a single pill of Revlimid cost the same as a new iPhone. I’ve covered high drug prices as a reporter for years. What I discovered shocked ...
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
NEW: As a defense contractor, Elon Musk's SpaceX sees allowing Chinese ownership as fraught. But it will allow the investment if it comes through offshore secrecy hubs like the Cayman Islands, court records say. Expert: “It is certainly a policy of obfuscation." www.propublica.org/article/elon...
propublica.org
How Elon Musk’s SpaceX Secretly Allows Investment From China
As a U.S. military contractor, SpaceX sees allowing Chinese ownership as fraught. But it will allow the investment if it comes through secrecy hubs like the Cayman Islands, court records say. “It is c...
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
An extraordinary, must-read story about what's happening inside the Social Security Administration. “Are we going to break something?” the agency's head asked in a meeting, referring to what DOGE has been doing with Social Security data. “I don’t know.” www.propublica.org/article/reco...
propublica.org
“The President Wanted It and I Did It”: Recording Reveals Head of Social Security’s Thoughts on DOGE and Trump
In a recording obtained by ProPublica, acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek portrayed his agency as facing peril, while also encouraging patience with “the DOGE kids.”
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
This article is a genuine must read if you care about the future of the US, the economy and Social Security. Not exaggerating. www.propublica.org/article/reco...
propublica.org
“The President Wanted It and I Did It”: Recording Reveals Head of Social Security’s Thoughts on DOGE and Trump
In a recording obtained by ProPublica, acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek portrayed his agency as facing peril, while also encouraging patience with “the DOGE kids.”
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 08/03/2025
NEW: The murders of two people outside an LGBTQ+ bar at first looked like the act of a lone shooter. A ProPublica and @frontlinepbs.bsky.social investigation shows they were, in fact, the culmination of a coordinated, international recruiting effort by online extremists.
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How the Terrorgram Collective’s Neo-Nazi Influencers Groomed a Teen to Kill
The murders of two people outside an LGBTQ+ bar at first looked like the act of a lone shooter. A ProPublica and FRONTLINE investigation shows they were, in fact, the culmination of a coordinated,…
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Justin Elliott @justinelliott.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Dan Bishop, nominated for a top post in Trump's OMB, acknowledged under questioning by @whitehouse.senate.gov that he lived in the D.C. townhouse that is part of an effort to influence powerful politicians. Says he paid fair market rent but does not offer a number www.youtube.com/live/coQ9vsn...
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WATCH LIVE: Dan Bishop testifies in Senate confirmation hearing for deputy director of OMB
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
NEW: Four years ago, Steve Berger started a secretive project to build ties with lawmakers and shape national policy. Now he appears to be running a group house for conservative congressmen. It’s not just Speaker Johnson living there. Another prominent Trump ally has the keys.
propublica.org
Secretive D.C. Influence Project Appears to Be Running a Group House for Right-Wing Lawmakers
Evangelical pastor Steve Berger’s political influence campaign operates out of his D.C. townhouse. In addition to House Speaker Mike Johnson living there, a prominent Trump ally, Rep. Andy Ogles, has ...
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
This is a thread about a political influence project you’ve never heard of. It involves the man second in line for the presidency and an evangelical pastor who’s quietly forged close relationships with some of the most powerful men in the country.
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
NEW: A $3.7 million Capitol Hill townhouse is the D.C. headquarters of a secretive political influence project. It’s owned by a major GOP donor. But one of the most powerful men in the country recently moved in: House Speaker Mike Johnson. www.propublica.org/article/mike...
propublica.org
Speaker Mike Johnson Is Living in a D.C. House That Is the Center of a Pastor’s Secretive Influence Campaign
The Capitol Hill townhouse is owned by a major Republican donor. It’s the headquarters of a little-known political influence project that has reached a number of powerful Republican politicians.
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Undocumented immigrants with no other criminal record have been transferred to Guantanamo. Access to lawyers, denied. Their families kept in the dark. Why were they taken from the U.S. and moved to a prison designed for terrorists? Unclear. Evidence suggests it might be because of their tattoos.
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Mica Rosenberg @micarosenberg.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
The Trump administration has flown about 100 immigrants to Guantanamo Bay. Perla Trevizo and I identified nearly a dozen of them and spoke to relatives of three of them. www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
U.S. Claims Immigrants Held at Guantanamo Are “Worst of the Worst.” Their Families Say They’re Being Unfairly Targeted.
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune have identified nearly a dozen immigrants who have been flown to Guantanamo Bay. Government officials have refused to release the names of detainees or provide details...
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Trump and Elon Musk all but dismantled USAID. It took them less than a month. It's an unprecedented test of the checks and balances at the heart of the American system of government. The must-read inside story, from @annamaria.bsky.social and Brett Murphy. www.propublica.org/article/usai...
propublica.org
In Breaking USAID, the Trump Administration May Have Broken the Law
ProPublica’s reporting provides new details about what legal risk officials were prepared to take and what laws they may have violated on their way to creating a “constitutional crisis.”
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 31/01/2025
NEW: Organizations that provide vital, lifesaving care for desperate and vulnerable people around the world have been forced to halt operations, turn away patients and lay off staff. “I’ve never seen anything that scares me as much as this,” one doctor said.
propublica.org
“People Will Die”: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid. That’s Not True.
Organizations that provide vital care for desperate and vulnerable people around the world have been forced to halt operations, turn away patients and lay off staff. “I’ve never seen anything that sca...
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 21/01/2025
Trump has pardoned about 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants and commuted the sentences of leaders of militias such as the Oath Keepers. If you haven't, it's worth taking the time to read or listen to @josh-kaplan.bsky.social's story. ⤵️
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
For those who've been following the story of John Williams, the mole inside the militia movement, he's now released a significant portion of his files through @ddosecrets.com: ddosecrets.com/article/para...
ddosecrets.com
Paramilitary Leaks - Distributed Denial of Secrets
A 501(c)(3) dedicated to archiving and publishing hacked and leaked data.
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
THREAD: In 2023, I received an envelope with no return address. Inside was a flash drive containing tens of 1000s of secret files. It came from a vigilante with a tumultuous past, who'd conducted a years-long undercover operation. He didn’t tell the FBI or his family. He only told me.
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