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Kim Barker

Kim Barker was a reporter at ProPublica covering "dark money" and campaign finance, as well as the aftermath of the BP oil spill.

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Kim Barker was a reporter covering campaign finance and the aftermath of the BP oil spill; her stories have run in outlets such as The Washington Post, The Atlantic and Salon. She specialized in "dark money," or social welfare nonprofits that do not report their donors for election ads. In late 2009 and early 2010, Barker was the Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, where she studied, wrote and lectured on Pakistan and Afghanistan and U.S. policy. She was the South Asia bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune from 2004 to 2009 and was based in New Delhi and Islamabad. At the Tribune, Barker covered major stories such as the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and rising militancy in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Her book about those years, "The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan," was published by Doubleday in March 2011.

Pro-Troop Charity Misleads Donors While Lining Political Consultants' Pockets

Move America Forward has collected millions to send care packages to U.S. troops. But its appeals often rely on images and stories borrowed without permission, and its assets have been used to benefit political consulting firms and PACs.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

Dark Money Group Sues IRS Over Targeting, Disclosure

Freedom Path was launched by backers of Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and ran ads supporting Hatch and other Republicans in 2012. It said it suffered damages because the IRS flagged its application for extra scrutiny and disclosed its pending application to ProPublica.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

Liberal Outside Money Groups Spend Big in North Carolina

Liberal spending via dark money groups and super PACs was relatively modest in 2012. But their spending has taken off this year in at least one state.

by Theodoric Meyer and Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

What Happens When a Dark Money Group Blows Off IRS Rules? Nothing.

The Government Integrity Fund spent most of its money on election ads, despite IRS rules prohibiting a social welfare nonprofit from doing so.

by Kim Barker and Theodoric Meyer,

Buying Your Vote

What Newly Released Docs Tell Us About the IRS and How It Handles Dark Money Groups

Here are five takeaways ProPublica found from the documents released Wednesday by a House committee.

by Kim Barker and Theodoric Meyer,

Buying Your Vote

Who Controls the Kochs’ Political Network? ASMI, SLAH and TOHE

Obscure limited liability companies have ultimate say over the Koch network’s nonprofits, which spend hundreds of millions of dollars to advance conservative causes.

by Kim Barker and Theodoric Meyer,

Buying Your Vote

The Dark Money Man: How Sean Noble Moved the Kochs’ Cash into Politics and Made Millions

Sean Noble was a former congressional aide just starting as a political consultant when he was recruited to help run the Kochtopus — Charles and David Koch’s multi-layered political network.

by Kim Barker and Theodoric Meyer,

Buying Your Vote

The IRS Moves to Limit Dark Money – But Enforcement Still a Question

The proposed regulations could dramatically limit how nonprofits spend money. But the proposals aren’t a done deal, and it’s not clear whether groups would comply.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

New Tax Return Shows Karl Rove’s Group Spent Even More On Politics Than It Said

The $26.4 million grant from Rove’s dark money giant, Crossroads GPS, to Americans for Tax Reform was supposed to be spent on social welfare and education. Instead, records show, at least $11.2 million of that grant money went to politics.

by Kim Barker,

Crossroads’ Tax Return Shows Big Donors, But Doesn’t Name Them

The biggest dark money group, launched by Republican strategist Karl Rove, shows in its tax filing that it got one donation of nearly $23 million and another of $18 million. (Donors names not included.)

by Kim Barker,