Justin Elliott
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justinelliott.bsky.social
Justin Elliott
@justinelliott.bsky.social
49K followers 920 following 52 posts
ProPublica reporter. Email tips/comments/complaints: [email protected]
Signal: https://www.propublica.org/people/justin-elliott/
More: justinelliott.co
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Reposted by Justin Elliott
themorrancave.bsky.social
NEW: When Andrew Tate landed in the US, Customs & Border Protection seized his electronic devices. But @propublica.org found that a White House official told DHS to return the devices, emphasizing that the request came from the White House.

By @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Schapiro
The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation
Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.
www.propublica.org
November 18, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
williamturton.bsky.social
New: FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff
As the FBI’s deputy director, Bongino receives some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, including the President’s Daily Brief. His ascent to that position without passing a standard bureau backgr...
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
josh-kaplan.bsky.social
NEW: We’ve uncovered the first known example of taxpayer money flowing from DHS to businesses controlled by Kristi Noem’s allies and friends.

It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
Kristi Noem sits on a horse wearing a cowboy hat. In the background is Mount Rushmore.
November 14, 2025 at 12:20 PM
justinelliott.bsky.social
NEW:

Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts

www.propublica.org/article/kris...

w @josh-kaplan.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rule...
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
jeisinger.bsky.social
JOB ALERT! We are hiring a business editor.

You have an unerring instinct for the jugular of the wealthy & powerful? Build a team with me and we’ll get after it!

job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...

You can email me or on Signal at 718-496-5233
Senior Editor, Business
New York City, United States
job-boards.greenhouse.io
November 12, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
ericumansky.bsky.social
SCOOP

The admin is making it harder for male vets w/ breast cancer to get their care covered

The admin cites Trump order: “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”

I got the memo laying it all out

www.propublica.org/article/vete...
Citing Trump Order on “Biological Truth,” VA Makes It Harder for Male Veterans With Breast Cancer to Get Coverage
A Department of Veterans Affairs memo obtained by ProPublica erects new roadblocks to care for veterans with the rare but deadly cancer. The agency cites no new science but relies on an executive orde...
www.propublica.org
October 29, 2025 at 11:15 AM
justinelliott.bsky.social
Here is our full story that Vance is dismissing, with primary source documents showing Trump cabinet members with multiple primary-residence mortgages

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
October 12, 2025 at 5:24 PM
justinelliott.bsky.social
New: Elon Musk’s SpaceX Took Money Directly From Chinese Investors, Company Insider Testifies

www.propublica.org/article/elon...
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Took Money Directly From Chinese Investors, Company Insider Testifies
The newly unsealed testimony marks the first time direct Chinese investment in the company has been disclosed, raising new questions about foreign ownership interests in one of America’s most importan...
www.propublica.org
October 2, 2025 at 12:17 PM
justinelliott.bsky.social
New:

Kristi Noem fast-tracked millions in disaster aid to Naples, Florida tourist attraction after campaign donor intervened

www.propublica.org/article/kris...

w/ @josh-kaplan.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Kristi Noem Fast-Tracked Millions in Disaster Aid to Florida Tourist Attraction After Campaign Donor Intervened
The DHS chief has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA’s response after natural disasters. Texts and emails obtained by ProPublica point to an effective way to get help faster: have one of Noe...
www.propublica.org
September 26, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
jessedrucker.bsky.social
My latest story - Trump administration rolls back tax shelter crackdown: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/b...
Trump Administration Halts I.R.S. Crackdown on Major Tax Shelters
www.nytimes.com
September 9, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
propublica.org
1/ The documents are clear: Lee Zeldin and his wife have two principal-residence mortgages, for properties in Long Island and Washington, D.C.

We’ve got the records 👇

Long Island: legacy.www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
D.C.: legacy.www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Post on X from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. The text says: "ProPublica's headline is the definition of fake news. I have NEVER claimed more than one primary residence! In 2007, I acquired a primary residence in NY upon leaving active duty. That was my primary residence for the next 17.5 years. My primary residence then changed to DC this past year when I become EPA Administrator. I completed the process by the book, notifying my mortgage companies, insurance company, and local government that my primary residence was changing. These fake news hacks knew this BEFORE posting their bogus claim, but they just couldn't help themselves." Below the post text is a screenshot of a ProPublica post that reads: "Trump has targeted political foes for claiming more than one primary residence on their loan papers. But ProPublica found that at least three of the president's Cabinet members have done the same thing."
September 5, 2025 at 8:48 PM
justinelliott.bsky.social
New:

Trump Is Accusing Foes With Multiple Mortgages of Fraud. Records Show 3 of His Cabinet Members Have Them.

www.propublica.org/article/trum... w/ @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Trump Is Accusing Foes With Multiple Mortgages of Fraud. Records Show 3 of His Cabinet Members Have Them.
The White House has targeted opponents, including a Fed governor, for having more than one primary residence on their loan papers. ProPublica found that, in one case, a Trump cabinet secretary got two...
www.propublica.org
September 4, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
propublica.org
NEW: After DOGE outed Mohammad Halimi on social media, Taliban intelligence agents blindfolded and took three of his family members to a remote prison.

They were repeatedly beaten and questioned about Halimi and his recently publicized work for the United States.
DOGE Targeted Him on Social Media. Then the Taliban Took His Family.
Afghan scholar Mohammad Halimi, who fled the Taliban in 2021, had worked to help U.S. diplomats understand his homeland. Then DOGE put his family’s lives at risk by exposing his sensitive work for a U...
www.propublica.org
August 22, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
ericumansky.bsky.social
Trump admin says everything is hunky-dory at the VA.

But we found that the number of doctors at VA has dropped each month since Trump took office.

Nurses are way down too

We got the records.

www.propublica.org/article/vete...

by @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social @vernalcoleman.bsky.social and me.
After six years of adding medical staff, the VA this year is down more than 600 doctors and about 1,900 nurses. The number of doctors on staff has declined each month since President Donald Trump took office. The agency also lost twice as many nurses as it hired between January and June, records viewed by ProPublica show.
August 8, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
nicolefoy.bsky.social
Citizens, crying kids, pregnant women, people who aren't the target...it doesn't seem to matter who's inside the car when immigration officers want to make an arrest. They smash the window anyway

@mckenziefunk.com & I tracked these arrests all over the U.S. projects.propublica.org/trump-ice-sm...
Bloodied Faces, Sobbing Children: Immigration Officers Smash Car Windows to Speed Up Arrests
We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office. ICE claims its officers use a “mini...
projects.propublica.org
July 31, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
williamturton.bsky.social
SCOOP: The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE www.propublica.org/article/trum...
The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE
ProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security in order to speed up the agency’s mass deportation efforts.
www.propublica.org
July 15, 2025 at 3:49 PM
justinelliott.bsky.social
NEW:

Kristi Noem secretly took a cut of political donations and then failed to disclose it

www.propublica.org/article/kris...

w/ @josh-kaplan.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations
A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics requirem...
www.propublica.org
June 30, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
propublica.org
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/
May 16, 2025 at 1:03 AM
justinelliott.bsky.social
New:

The Trump Administration Leaned On Poor African Countries to Give Elon Musk’s Company What It Wants

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

w/ @josh-kaplan.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
The Trump Administration Leaned on African Countries. The Goal: Get Business for Elon Musk.
The State Department has intervened on behalf of Musk’s satellite internet company in five developing nations. In Gambia, U.S. diplomats have lobbied and browbeat at least seven government ministers a...
www.propublica.org
May 15, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
robert-faturechi.bsky.social
Records show Attorney General Pam Bondi sold between $1 and $5 million worth of Trump Media shares on April 2.

That same day, after the market closed, Trump announced his Liberation Day tariffs, sending the stock market plunging.

www.propublica.org/article/pam-...
U.S. AG Pam Bondi Sold More than $1 Million in Trump Media Stock the Day Trump Announced Sweeping Tariffs
Disclosure forms show that Bondi sold between $1 million and $5 million worth of shares on April 2. That day, after the market closed, Trump’s “Liberation Day” press conference sent the market tumblin...
www.propublica.org
May 14, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
mjmishak.bsky.social
NEW from @propublica.org: Records show that Chris Young is simultaneously working as a political adviser to Elon Musk while helping DOGE gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which regulates Musk's businesses. www.propublica.org/article/doge...
Musk Adviser May Make as Much as $1 Million a Year While Helping to Dismantle Agency that Regulates Tesla and X
Records show that Chris Young is simultaneously working as a political adviser to Musk while serving in the Department of Government Efficiency, helping to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau...
www.propublica.org
May 14, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
themorrancave.bsky.social
New: Helping to lay off 90% of the CFPB’s staff while holding $715K worth of stocks in companies that would benefit from a weakened CFPB “looks like a pretty clear-cut violation” of the federal criminal conflict-of-interest statute, one ethics expert said.
DOGE Aide Who Helped Gut CFPB Was Warned About Potential Conflicts of Interest
Before he helped fire most Consumer Financial Protection Bureau staffers, DOGE’s Gavin Kliger was warned about his investments and advised to not take any actions that could benefit him personally, ac...
www.propublica.org
May 7, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
ericumansky.bsky.social
NEW INVESTIGATION from me and @vernalcoleman.bsky.social:

Internal emails show doctors and others at VA hospitals around the country begging for help as cuts hurt veterans' care, including "live-saving cancer trials."

www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Internal VA Emails Reveal How Trump Cuts Jeopardize Veterans’ Care, Including To “Life-Saving Cancer Trials”
Despite a congressional mandate to expand care for veterans, internal Veterans Affairs messages obtained by ProPublica paint a stark portrait of how chaotic cost cutting has already imperiled tests of...
www.propublica.org
May 6, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
jeisinger.bsky.social
NEW: A case of Sock Puppet-Mastery.

Ed Martin secretly orchestrated an attack on a judge—in a case he was a party to.

Now he’s one of the highest law officers in the land.

@andykroll.bsky.social & @jeremykohler.bsky.social

www.propublica.org/article/ed-m...
April 24, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Reposted by Justin Elliott
jeisinger.bsky.social
1/ So get this:

You go on to Facebook & see a loan ad.

You click through & apply, giving lots of sensitive information.

Unbeknownst to you & sometimes the loan company, guess who also gets all that sensitive info?

Meta (parent co of Facebook).
Fend for Yourself: Under Trump, Consumer Protection Bureau’s Probes of Big Tech and Finance Firms Freeze Up
Companies may avoid consequences for alleged wrongdoing as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau drops lawsuits against Capital One and Rocket Homes and pauses investigations into Meta and others —...
www.propublica.org
March 26, 2025 at 5:15 PM