Mike Spies was previously a reporter in ProPublica’s New York City newsroom. Spies was previously a senior reporter for The Trace, an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to expanding coverage of guns in the U.S. Over the past four years, he has produced deep, high-impact investigative projects focusing on the gun lobby, including his 2017 series, “The Gunfighters,” examining the unchecked influence of the NRA. Spies has been recognized as a finalist for the Livingston Award, and his work on the NRA won the 2019 New York Press Club Award for continuing coverage. Before The Trace, Spies was a senior reporter for Vocativ. His byline has appeared in The New Yorker, Politico Magazine and Rolling Stone, among other publications.
Mike Spies
Reporter
Secret Recording Shows NRA Treasurer Plotting to Conceal Extravagant Expenses Involving Wayne LaPierre
Audio obtained by The Trace and ProPublica reveals, in real time, the gun lobbying group enacting a plan that would conceal payments for fancy hotels, limousines and other luxury expenses connected to its longtime CEO for a decade.
Text Messages Show Top Trump Campaign Fundraiser’s Key Role Planning the Rally That Preceded the Siege
Caroline Wren, a Trump fundraiser, is listed as a “VIP Advisor” in a National Park Service permit for the Jan. 6th rally at the Ellipse. Text messages and a planning memo show the title downplays the active role she played in organizing the event.
Who Biden Is Putting in Power
Here’s ProPublica’s running list of Joe Biden’s picks to run the federal government.
Trump Campaign Officials Started Pressuring Georgia’s Secretary of State Long Before the Election
The Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, rejected repeated demands to endorse Trump. As the official overseeing the voting, he believed he should remain neutral.
Top FEC Official’s Undisclosed Ties to Trump Raise Concerns Over Agency Neutrality
A top Federal Election Commission official, whose division regulates campaign cash, has shown support for President Trump and has close ties to his 2016 campaign attorney, Don McGahn. Experts said the actions raise questions about impartiality.
Before Limiting Ballot Drop Boxes to One Per County, Top Ohio Election Officials Secretly Consulted Promoter of Debunked Voting Fraud Fears
After Black union workers petitioned the state for more secure ballot drop boxes, top election officials called Hans von Spakovsky, a leading purveyor of discredited voting fraud claims, and then put a strict limit on the boxes instead.
No Democrats Allowed: A Conservative Lawyer Holds Secret Voter Fraud Meetings With State Election Officials
Heritage Foundation’s Hans von Spakovsky, whose work about voting fraud has been discredited, has been conducting private meetings for Republicans only.
At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In
Charlie Kirk’s nonprofit Turning Point USA has made misleading financial claims and gets its “independent” audits from its co-founder Bill Montgomery’s former business associate. It has enriched several of its top leaders as it pushes Trump’s message.
Trump Friends and Family Cleared for Millions in Small Business Bailout
Beneficiaries of the PPP included a lettuce farming venture backed by Trump’s son, Kushner companies, and a dentist who golfs with the president. The figures were released after a lawsuit by several news organizations, including ProPublica.
Ignoring Trump and Right-Wing Think Tanks, Red States Expand Vote by Mail
The Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups warn, with little evidence, that voting by mail fosters fraud. But some Republican secretaries of state reject those concerns and see no alternative to absentee voting if the pandemic persists.
Here’s Why Florida Got All the Emergency Medical Supplies It Requested While Other States Did Not
The Department of Health and Human Services has come under fire as several states’ requests for supplies from the emergency medical stockpile go unfulfilled. A chaotic distribution plan is buckling under a big problem: Nobody has enough.
The RNC Gave Big Contracts to Companies Linked to Its Chairwoman’s Husband and Political Backers
The Republican National Committee’s conflict-of-interest policy says party contracts shouldn’t go to its employees’ family or financial associates. After Ronna McDaniel became chair, the RNC made questionable payments.
The RNC Stopped Paying a Data Firm After A Serious Breach. Then It Paid A Mysterious LLC With the Same Address.
Three years after the Republican National Committee publicly sidelined the sullied firm, it paid an LLC with the same address $900,000 for “data services.” The RNC said it wouldn’t “waste any more breath explaining these innocuous issues.”
Republican National Committee Obscured How Much It Pays Its Chief of Staff
Amid the record-breaking flows of cash, the RNC is giving lucrative consulting work to a select group of political operatives with Trump campaign ties.
Giuliani Was Close to a Podcast Deal With the News Outlet That Spread His Ukraine Conspiracies
The president’s lawyer was negotiating a possible deal to co-produce a podcast with the publication — and The Hill’s John Solomon helped with the talks even as his articles were used in a disinformation campaign.
How a Veteran Reporter Worked with Giuliani’s Associates to Launch the Ukraine Conspiracy
Lev Parnas, recently indicted for foreign influence in U.S. elections, collaborated closely with The Hill’s John Solomon to fuel spurious allegations involving the Bidens and Ukraine.
The Pro-Trump Super PAC at the Center of the Ukraine Scandal Has Faced Multiple Campaign Finance Complaints
Randy Perkins donated $500,000 to America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC, a day after his company won federal money as part of a contract. The same PAC was dubbed “Committee 1” in a federal indictment alleging illegal donations from two Rudy Giuliani associates.
Inside the Trump Administration’s Chaotic Dismantling of the Federal Land Agency
Internal records from the Bureau of Land Management contradict what its chief told Congress about a plan to ship 200 D.C.-based career staff out West. The plan would weaken the agency, which stands between federal lands and oil, gas and mineral companies.
The NRA Used Funds to Settle a Sexual Harassment Claim Against a Top Official — And Then He Was Accused Again
A top vendor complained it would “not tolerate” further contact between the official and its employees.
Document Shows NRA Money Helped Its Chief Search for a Personal Mansion
The gun group’s lawyer said “not a cent” of the nonprofit’s money was spent on helping executive Wayne LaPierre’s mansion search. A document we obtained shows that payments were flagged by internal accountants for doing just that.
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