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josh-kaplan.bsky.social
ProPublica reporter | Email me at [email protected] | Contact info & stories here: propublica.org/people/joshua-kaplan
29 posts 35,526 followers 158 following
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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...

submitted 7 days ago • 49 comments

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/

submitted 21 days ago • 116 comments

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...

submitted 22 days ago • 19 comments

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...

submitted 28 days ago • 81 comments

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...

submitted 71 days ago • 8 comments

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...

submitted 85 days ago • 8 comments

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...

submitted 85 days ago • 20 comments

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.

submitted 90 days ago • 25 comments

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.

submitted 91 days ago • 19 comments

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.

submitted 97 days ago • 43 comments

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...

submitted 97 days ago • 74 comments

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.

submitted 112 days ago • 20 comments

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...

submitted 112 days ago • 9 comments

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...

submitted 116 days ago • 25 comments

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.

submitted 125 days ago • 32 comments

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. ⤵️

submitted 135 days ago • 16 comments

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...

submitted 149 days ago • 24 comments

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.

submitted 152 days ago • 894 comments