Justin Elliot

Congressman Who Compared Cigarettes To Smoking Lettuce Becomes Lobbyist For R.J. Reynolds

A former 18-year member of Congress who was a longtime friend of the tobacco industry while in office has become a paid consultant and registered lobbyist for tobacco giantReynolds American. Steve Buyer, a Republican congressman from Indiana from 1993 to 2011, had been the beneficiary of over $100,000 in Reynolds donations over the years and pushed the […]

Justin Elliot
By Justin Elliot
An ashtray full of cigarette butts is shown in Omaha, Neb., in this March 28, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

A former 18-year member of Congress who was a longtime friend of the tobacco industry while in office has become a paid consultant and registered lobbyist for tobacco giantReynolds American. Steve Buyer, a Republican congressman from Indiana from 1993 to 2011, had been the beneficiary of over $100,000 in Reynolds donations over the years and

Read Full Article

New Details Emerge About Dark Money Group In Ohio U.S. Senate Race

New details have emerged about the Government Integrity Fund, a non-profit dark money group that has spent over $1 million on pro-GOP ads in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio. As ProPublica first reported Friday, the chairman of the group is Tom Norris, a Columbus lobbyist who employs a former aide to Josh Mandel, the Republican […]

Justin Elliot
By Justin Elliot
A screenshot from a Government Integrity Fund ad criticizing Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. (Government Integrity Fund)

New details have emerged about the Government Integrity Fund, a non-profit dark money group that has spent over $1 million on pro-GOP ads in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio. As ProPublica first reported Friday, the chairman of the group is Tom Norris, a Columbus lobbyist who employs a former aide to Josh Mandel, the Republican challenging Sen.

Read Full Article

Revealed: The Dark Money Group Attacking Sen. Sherrod Brown

In May, a previously unknown group started pouring money into Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, considered one of the most important in the country and currently the nation’s most expensive.  The group, the Government Integrity Fund, has spent over $1 million so far on TV ads bashing Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown and praising his Republican […]

Justin Elliot
By Justin Elliot
A screenshot from a Government Integrity Fund ad supporting Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel.

In May, a previously unknown group started pouring money into Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, considered one of the most important in the country and currently the nation’s most expensive.  The group, the Government Integrity Fund, has spent over $1 million so far on TV ads bashing Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown and praising his Republican

Read Full Article

Watergate Journalist Carl Bernstein Spoke At Event Supporting Iranian ‘Terrorist’ Group

On a Saturday afternoon last February, journalist Carl Bernstein got up on stage at the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan and delivered a speech questioning the listing of an obscure Iranian group called the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK) on the U.S. government list of officially designated foreign terrorist organizations. The speech, before a crowd an […]

Justin Elliot
By Justin Elliot
Journalists Carl Bernstein, who broke the story of the 1972 Watergate conspiracy through the use of perhaps the most famous anonymous source in journalism history, mingle with students after a forum entitled "Anonymous Sources: Lessons Learned" at the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Institute of Politics at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Monday, Dec. 5, 2005. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

On a Saturday afternoon last February, journalist Carl Bernstein got up on stage at the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan and delivered a speech questioning the listing of an obscure Iranian group called the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK) on the U.S. government list of officially designated foreign terrorist organizations. The speech,

Read Full Article

How Politicians And The Press Overstated Military Budget Cuts By $100 Billion

Anxiety is rising in Washington about the big cuts to military spending slated to go into effect in January unless Congress takes action. Republicans, defense industry executives, and some Democrats are arguing hard against the automatic cuts, which were the result of last summer’s deal to raise the debt ceiling and would also cut nondefense spending equally. Multiple […]

Justin Elliot
By Justin Elliot
In this photo taken on Feb. 2, 2012 and released by U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit haul a 155 mm Howitzer onto the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown in Okinawa, Japan. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Johnie Hickmon)

Anxiety is rising in Washington about the big cuts to military spending slated to go into effect in January unless Congress takes action. Republicans, defense industry executives, and some Democrats are arguing hard against the automatic cuts, which were the result of last summer’s deal to raise the debt ceiling and would also cut nondefense

Read Full Article

Political Ad Data Comes Online — But It’s Not Searchable

After a bruising months-long fight between media corporations and the Federal Communications Commission, a government website came online today that will feature political ad data from television stations around the country. This means that detailed files about political advertising — which show who is buying political ads, how much they are paying, and when the ads are running, among other information […]

Justin Elliot
By Justin Elliot
In this March 6, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, is displayed on screen as he speaks before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), via satellite in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

After a bruising months-long fight between media corporations and the Federal Communications Commission, a government website came online today that will feature political ad data from television stations around the country. This means that detailed files about political advertising — which show who is buying political ads, how much they are

Read Full Article

Lobbyist-Linked Group Footed Bill For Rep. Burton’s Bahrain Trip

When Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) and his wife Samia arrived in Bahrain in April, they were greeted with a huge welcome poster featuring oversized smiling headshots of the Burtons. The veteran Indiana Republican, who is the third-ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs committee, met with the crown prince, after which a local pro-government newspaper ran […]

Justin Elliot
By Justin Elliot
Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind. gestures while speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 30, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

When Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) and his wife Samia arrived in Bahrain in April, they were greeted with a huge welcome poster featuring oversized smiling headshots of the Burtons. The veteran Indiana Republican, who is the third-ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs committee, met with the crown prince, after which a local pro-government

Read Full Article