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There's No Evidence to Support the NSA's 'Attacks Thwarted' Claim
Two weeks after Edward Snowden’s first revelations about sweeping government surveillance, President Obama shot back. "We know of at least 50 threats that have been averted because of this information not just in the United States, but, in some cases, threats here in Germany," Obama said during a visit to Berlin in June.
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NSA Says It Can't Search Its Own Emails
The NSA is a "supercomputing powerhouse" with machines so powerful their speed is measured in thousands of trillions of operations per second.
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Does the NSA Tap That? What We Still Don't Know About Internet Surveillance
Among the snooping revelations of recent weeks, there have been tantalizing bits of evidence that the NSA is tapping fiber-optic cables that carry nearly all international phone and Internet data.
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Five Big, Basic Unanswered Questions About the NSA's Snooping
Last week saw revelations that the FBI and the National Security Agency have been collecting Americans' phone records en masse and that the agencies have access to data from nine tech companies.But secrecy around the programs has meant even basic questions are still unanswered. Here's what we still don't know:
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The Shoddy Management That Lead to the IRS Tea Party Scandal
The IRS division responsible for flagging Tea Party groups has long been an agency afterthought, beset by mismanagement, financial constraints and an unwillingness to spell out just what it expects from social welfare nonprofits, former officials and experts say.
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After Being Named Banking Chairman, Congressman Vacations with Bankers
In January, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, ascended to the powerful chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee. Six weeks later, campaign finance filings and interviews show, Hensarling was joined by representatives of the banking industry for a ski vacation fundraiser at a posh Park City, Utah, resort.
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GOP and Dems Come Together — to Keep IRS from Competing with TurboTax
A House bill would bar the IRS from offering taxpayers software that would compete with programs like TurboTax. Tax activist Grover Norquist and others wrote a letter to members of Congress that urged them to support the bill — what they called a "pro-taxpayer, anti-IRS power grab legislation." At issue is how Americans file their taxes and whether electronic filing can be offered directly through the IRS.
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The Wealth of Business Connections for Obama’s Energy Pick
Industry ties aren't uncommon for cabinet nominees, and President Obama praised Ernest Moniz for understanding both environmental and economic issues. But Moniz's work for energy companies since he served in President Clinton's Energy Department has irked some environmentalists.
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Widely Cited Government Study on Iranian Spies 'Pulled for Revisions'
An official with the Library of Congress says a widely cited but poorly sourced report his office did on Iran's intelligence ministry has been pulled from circulation.
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Anonymous Donors Are Driving Ads for New Mexico's Contested Senate Seat
Dark money groups flooded Albuquerque's airwaves in August, aiming to sway a hotly contested U.S. Senate race by making more than half the political ad buys on top TV stations.
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Revealed: The Dark Money Group Attacking Sen. Sherrod Brown
The Government Integrity Fund, a previously unknown group, has poured money into ads bashing Ohio senator Sherrod Brown and praising his Republican opponent.
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Lobbyist-Linked Group Paid the Bill for 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.
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How the NYPD Overstated Its Counterterrorism Record
The NYPD is held up as a sophisticated counterterrorism operation, with media and political figures citing 14 attacks prevented or stopped. But a ProPublica investigation finds that the number is inflated.
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Clarence Page Spoke at a Rally for Iranian Militant Group
Late last month, syndicated columnist Clarence Page appeared at a rally in Paris in support of the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK), an Iranian group that has been lobbying Washington to be removed from the U.S. government’s list of designated foreign terrorist organizations.
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Dissecting Obama’s Standard on Drone Strike Deaths
ProPublica's Justin Elliott tries to lay out exactly what's known (not much) about President Obama's policy on drone strikes, what's not (a lot), and what the White House is saying in response to a New York Times report.
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Way Too Many Media Companies Are Lobbying Against Transparency
Many of the country’s biggest media companies — which own dozens of newspapers and TV news operations — are flexing their muscle in Washington in a fight against a government initiative to increase transparency of political spending.
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Are Corporations Claiming Tax Breaks for Super PAC Donations?
There may be another benefit for corporations from the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision that opened up the way for unlimited corporate spending on politics: tax breaks.
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Did the NYPD's Spying on Muslims Violate the Law?
Last August, the Associated Press launched a series detailing how the New York Police Department has extensively investigated Muslims in New York and other states. ProPublica's Justin Elliott spoke to Faiza Patel to get a better understanding of the rules governing the NYPD.
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The American PR Firm Helping Out Bahrain's Brutal Monarchy
As the country cracks down on peaceful protesters, a company called Qorvis is spinning Washington on their behalf.
