Get New Articles by Email
News Reports
-
Editor's Choice: Scroll below for our monthly blend of mainstream and February 2023 news and viewsNote: Excerpts are from the authors' words except for subheads and occasional "Editor's notes" such as this.
Feb. 1
Top Headlines
- Washington Post- Las Vegas Review-Journal, Investigative Report: Alleged $500 million Ponzi scheme preyed on Mormons. It ended with FBI gunfire, Lizzie Johnson
New York Times, Investigation: At the Supreme Court, Ethics Questions Over a Spouse’s Business Ties, Steve Eder
Washington Post, Rep. George Santos says he’s stepping down from committees amid fabrications about his biography- Rolling Stone, FBI Probes Allegations George Santos Took $3,000 From Dying Dog’s GoFundMe
- Washington Post, With a million people, an ecstatic Kinshasa hears Pope Francis’s Mass
- Washington Post, Six Colorado River states agreed on water cuts. California did not, Joshua Partlow
- New York Times, The Death of Tyre Nichols: ‘We Mourn With You,’ Kamala Harris Says as Tyre Nichols Is Laid to Rest
- New York Times Ukraine Live Updates: Russian Troop Buildup May Signal New Assault, Ukraine Says
Biden Document Probe
Washington Post, Justice Dept. searches Biden’s Rehoboth, Del., home as part of classified documents probe- Palmer Report, Analysis and Advocacy: President Joe Biden scored a huge victory today while most of you were busy complaining about Donald Trump, Bill Palmer
Trump Probes
New York Times, Trump’s Well-Worn Legal Playbook Starts to Look Frayed- Washington Post, Opinion: Trump has yet another legal threat to worry about, Jennifer Rubin
- New York Times, Manhattan Prosecutors Will Begin Presenting Trump Case to Grand Jury
U.S. Politics, Elections, Economy, Governance
- Washington Post, Hunter Biden’s lawyers, in newly aggressive strategy, target his critics
- New York Times, President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy met to discuss the debt limit, but didn’t appear to reach a breakthrough
- Politico, Trump big money machine prepares for battle with DeSantis, other rivals
- Washington Post, House GOP moves to oust Ilhan Omar from Foreign Affairs Committee
- Washington Post, U.S. military poised to secure new access to key Philippine bases
Pro-Trump Election Deniers, Domestic Terrorists
- Washington Post, Michael Luttig: He never ascended to the Supreme Court, but some think he has played a far more consequential role, Manuel Roig-Franzia
- Washington Post, Analysis: Republican Party brings election fraud allegations back into the fold, Philip Bump
- Politico, Jan. 6 defendant who sprayed line of police sentenced after tearful apology
- New York Times, Opinion: Bill Barr’s Image Rehab Is Kaput, David Firestone
- Politico, Secret hold restricts DOJ's bid to access phone of Trump ally Rep. Scott Perry
More On U.S. Courts, Crime, Regulation
Washington Post, Man accused of kidnapping, torturing woman dies after standoff, official says- New York Times, Visual Investigation: 71 Commands in 13 Minutes: Officers Gave Tyre Nichols Impossible Orders, Robin Stein, Alexander Cardia and Natalie Reneau
- New York Times, For Giffords, Progress on Gun Safety Is Like Her Recovery: ‘Inch by Inch’
Global News, Migration, Human Rights Issues
Washington Post, Israelis, Palestinians see U.S. gesture as feeble, even farcical, amid rise in violence- New York Times, Analysis: Israel’s Far-Right Government Raises Risk of Escalation
Ukraine War
- Washington Post, Analysis: U.S. cautions Ukraine on aid as public support slips, Olivier Knox with research by Caroline Anders
New York Times, Alcohol and Bad Finances: How a U.S. Veterans Group Imploded in Ukraine,- Washington Post, Biden says no to F-16 jets for Kyiv; Russia likely eyeing Donetsk advance, U.K. says
- New York Times, Russia Freed Prisoners to Fight Its War. Here’s How Some Fared
- Washington Post, War in Ukraine: Along front-line river, this deadly road shows toll of Russia’s war
More On U.S. Economy, Inflation, Jobs
- New York Times, The Fed Raises Rates a Quarter Point and Signals More Ahead
- New York Times, The Pandemic Used-Car Boom Is Coming to an Abrupt End
Energy, Climate, Environment, Disasters
- Washington Post, Biden administration set to endorse major Alaskan oil drilling project
- Washington Post, The environmental cost of beef vs. chicken? Tuna vs. salmon? Compare dozens of foods here
- Washington Post, These everyday items endanger the environment. Here’s how to handle them
Washington Post, EPA may have dealt ‘final nail in the coffin’ for Alaska’s Pebble Mine
More On Pandemics, Public Health, Privacy
New York Times, China’s Covid Tsunami Recedes, Bringing Relief, Grief and Anxiety- New York Times, U.S. Plans to End Public Health Emergency for Covid in May
U.S. House GOP Probes, Election Deniers, Scandals
U.S. Abortion, Rape Laws, Politics
- Washington Post, GW students add ‘morning-after’ pill vending machine to campus
U.S. Media, Religion, Education
- Poynter Institute, Why Ralph Nader is launching a print newspaper, Greg Burns
- Washington Post, Former ABC News journalist charged in child porn case
- Rolling Stone, Feds Charge Former ABC News Producer With Transportation of Child Pornography
- Washington Post, Amid attacks from DeSantis, AP African American studies course is updated
- Washington Post, Tom Brady says he is retiring from the NFL ‘for good’
National Press Club Press Release, Club Urges India’s Government to Rescind Ban on BBC Documentary, Bill McCarren- New York Times, Gawker, the Irreverent Gossip Site, Will Be Shuttered Again
Top Stories
Murdered reporter Jeff German (Las Vegas Journal-Review Photo by Harrison Keely via Getty Images).
Washington Post- Las Vegas Review-Journal, Investigative Report: Alleged $500 million Ponzi scheme preyed on Mormons. It ended with FBI gunfire, Lizzie Johnson, Feb. 1, 2023. The Post teamed up with the Las Vegas Review-Journal to continue the work of slain investigative reporter Jeff German.
The FBI arrived at the only house on this stretch of Ruffian Road at 1:25 p.m., parking out front of the $1.6 million property, hedged by empty lots of scrub and dust.The three agents approached the camera-equipped doorbell at the home’s perimeter, pressing it once. Then they pushed past an unlocked gate, cut through the courtyard and rapped against the glass French doors of Matthew Beasley’s home.
Las Vegas investigative reporter Jeff German was slain outside his home on Sept. 2; a Clark County official he had investigated is charged in his death. To continue German’s work, The Washington Post teamed up with his newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, to complete one of the stories he’d planned to pursue before his killing.
A folder on German’s desk contained court documents he’d started to gather about an alleged Ponzi scheme that left hundreds of victims – many of them Mormon – in its wake. Post reporter Lizzie Johnson began investigating, working with Review-Journal photographer Rachel Aston.
The Las Vegas attorney, then 49, had been anticipating this visit for months, he would tell an FBI hostage negotiator. He’d already drafted letters to his wife and four children, explaining what he could and describing how much he loved them.
On this Thursday in March, Beasley knew his time was up. He placed the letters — along with a note addressed to the FBI and a zip drive of computer files — upstairs on the desk in his office. Then, alone in the house, he went to the front door. He paused, the left side of his body obscured by the door frame.
One of the agents — identified only as “J.M.” in a detailed criminal complaint filed March 4 in the U.S. District Court of Nevada — opened his suit jacket and flashed his badge.
Beasley stepped fully into the doorway. He held a loaded pistol against his head.
“Easy, easy,” yelled J.M.
“Drop the gun,” shouted a second agent.
Authorities had long suspected Beasley of running a massive Ponzi scheme with his business partner, Jeffrey Judd, that mainly targeted Mormons, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often called. The investment was pitched as a nearly risk-free opportunity to earn annual returns of 50 percent by lending money to slip-and-fall victims awaiting checks after the settlement of their lawsuits.
New York Times, Investigation: At the Supreme Court, Ethics Questions Over a Spouse’s Business Ties, Steve Eder, Feb. 1, 2023 (print ed.). Chief Justice John Roberts’s wife recruits lawyers to top firms, some with business before the court. But her ties have raised ethics questions.After Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined the Supreme Court, his wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, gave up her career as a law firm partner to become a high-end legal recruiter in an effort to alleviate potential conflicts of interest. Mrs. Roberts later recalled in an interview that her husband’s job made it “awkward to be practicing law in the firm.”
Now, a former colleague of Mrs. Roberts has raised concerns that her recruiting work poses potential ethics issues for the chief justice. Seeking an inquiry, the ex-colleague has provided records to the Justice Department and Congress indicating Mrs. Roberts has been paid millions of dollars in commissions for placing lawyers at firms — some of which have business before the Supreme Court, according to a letter obtained by The New York Times.
In his letter last month, Kendal Price, a 66-year-old Boston ...
New York Times, Election Integrity
Stop fretting about Trump and do something about it. Right now!
-- Dana Milbank, Washington Post
Mission Statement
Andrew Kreig
JIP Editor
The Justice Integrity Project (JIP) researches official misconduct
Andrew Kreig's Twitter
Broadcast
Broadcast and lecture audiences can count on the Project's director to deliver blunt, entertaining and cutting-edge commentary about public affairs, with practical tips for the millions of Americans caught up in unfair litigation or regulation.
Based in Washington, DC, Andrew Kreig is an accomplished fighter for the public interest. Learn from his decades of reporting, analysis and advocacy:
• Shocking tales of recent corruption, deception and cover-up by both parties in communities ranging from small towns to world capitals; and
• Practical how-to tips for reformers on action that brings real-world results.
To book guest broadcast appearances on your station, write: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Advertisements
Past News Reports
- Feb. 2023 News
- Jan. 2023 News
- Dec. 2022 News
- Nov. 2022 News
- Oct. 2022 News (Pt. 2)
- Oct. 2022 News, Views
- Sept. 2022 News, Pt. 2
- Sept. 2022 News
- Aug. 2022 News
- July 2022 News, Views
- June 2022 News, Views
- May 2022 News, Views
- April 2022 News, Views
- March 2022 News, Views
- Feb. 2022 News, Views
- Jan. 2022 News, Views
- Dec. 2021 News, Views
- Nov. 2021 News, Views
- Oct. 2021 News, Views
- Sept. News (Pt. 2)
- August 2021 News
- July News
- June 2021 News (Part 2)
- June 2021 News (Part 1)
- May 2021 News
- April 2021 News
Contact Andrew
Find a Post
- Commentary By Dan Rather: My Question for Dr. King 1964 and Today
- Zelensky Speaks: Historical Commentary by Dan Rather
- Reporters Beware: CIA's Misleading Talking Points on JFK Files
- Russian Ukraine invasion is Europe’s 9-11
- Analysis: Pro-Trump US Prosecutor loses ‘Russiagate’ Jury Verdicts but PR Battles Loom