Joaquin Sapien
Joaquin Sapien is a reporter at ProPublica covering criminal justice and social services.
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Joaquin Sapien was one of the first reporters hired at ProPublica in its first year of publishing in 2008. Since then, his journalism has explored a broad range of topics, including criminal justice, social services, and the environment. In 2019, he was a co-producer and correspondent for “Right to Fail,” a film for the PBS documentary series Frontline. The film was based on his 2018 examination of a flawed housing program for New Yorkers with mental illness, which appeared in the New York Times. The story immediately prompted a federal judge to order an independent investigation into the program. It won a Deadline Club Award and a Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability.
In 2015, Sapien wrote about care for troubled children, beginning with a story in the California Sunday Magazine on a group home that descended into chaos. His work helped an abused boy receive a $12 million jury award and led to the closure of another embattled home in Long Beach.
Past areas of focus include New York City Family Court, prosecutorial misconduct, traumatic brain injury, natural gas drilling, and contaminated drywall used to rebuild after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Sapien’s work has earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Environmental Journalists, and Investigative Reporters and Editors. He was a four-time finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. Before joining ProPublica, Sapien was a reporter at the Center for Public Integrity.
Eight Things You Need to Know About the Navy’s Failed Multibillion-Dollar Littoral Combat Ship Program
The key takeaways from ProPublica’s investigation into the decades long project that could end up costing American taxpayers more than $100 billion.
The Inside Story of How the Navy Spent Billions on the “Little Crappy Ship”
Littoral combat ships were supposed to launch the Navy into the future. Instead they broke down across the globe and many of their weapons never worked. Now the Navy is getting rid of them. One is less than five years old.
How the U.S. Has Struggled to Stop the Growth of a Shadowy Russian Private Army
Vladimir Putin has increasingly relied on the Wagner Group, a private and unaccountable army with a history of human rights violations, to pursue Russia’s foreign policy objectives across the globe.
Hell at Abbey Gate
In firsthand accounts, Afghan civilians and U.S. Marines describe the desperate struggle to flee through the Kabul airport’s last open entrance.
House Committee Issues Subpoena to Top Trump Fundraiser Kimberly Guilfoyle
Guilfoyle, fiancee of Donald Trump Jr., boasted in text messages that she raised $3 million for the Jan. 6 rally. The demand for legal documents and a deposition is the first for a member of the Trump family’s inner circle.
Suicide Bomber Who Killed U.S. Troops and Afghans “Likely” Used Unguarded Route to Kabul Airport Gate
Paths left unsecured by U.S. military sped the evacuation of American citizens and Afghan allies. The attack killed 13 U.S. service members and scores of civilians.
Report: U.S. Marines Returned Fire After Suicide Bombing, but No Enemies Were Shooting at Them
A declassified report concludes that U.S. Marines who began shooting after a Kabul airport suicide bombing were not under fire, contradicting previous accounts. And they did not hit any Afghan civilians.
Texts Show Kimberly Guilfoyle Bragged About Raising Millions for Rally That Fueled Capitol Riot
Messages reviewed by ProPublica represent the strongest indication yet that members of the Trump family inner circle were involved in financing and organizing the Jan. 6 “Save America” rally.
Top Trump Fundraiser Boasted of Raising $3 Million to Support Jan. 6 “Save America” Rally
Caroline Wren, who had worked on the Trump campaign, told associates she distributed funds to a number of political organizations backing the rally, including Tea Party Express and Turning Point.
January 6 Select Committee Subpoenas Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Other Top Aides
Citing a June ProPublica report, the committee says there is “credible evidence” of Meadows’ involvement in events leading up to the attack on the Capitol.