Alex is a research reporter at ProPublica.
Alex Mierjeski
Research Reporter
Republicans Hatched a Secret Assault on the Voting Rights Act in Washington State
After he helped create the state’s voting maps, a redistricting commissioner quietly worked with national Republican figures to bring a lawsuit against his own work.
In the Scar of New Mexico’s Largest Wildfire, a Legal Battle Is Brewing: What Is Victims’ Suffering Worth?
A wildfire accidentally started by the federal government drove them from their homes and destroyed the things they loved most about their land. The government will pay them only for things with a price tag.
Supreme Connections: Search Supreme Court Financial Disclosures
Find organizations and people that have paid the current justices, reimbursed them for travel, given them gifts and more.
A “Delicate Matter”: Clarence Thomas’ Private Complaints About Money Sparked Fears He Would Resign
Interviews and newly unearthed documents reveal that Thomas, facing financial strain, privately pushed for a higher salary and to allow Supreme Court justices to take speaking fees.
The Supreme Court Has Adopted a Conduct Code, but Who Will Enforce It?
Experts say it is unclear if the new rules, which come after reporting by ProPublica and others revealed that justices had repeatedly failed to disclose gifts and travel from wealthy donors, would address the issues raised by the recent revelations.
It’s Not Personal: Why Clarence Thomas’ Trip to the Koch Summit Undermines His Ethics Defense
Even by Thomas’ own permissive interpretation, the justice’s recently revealed travel to Palm Springs and the Bohemian Grove appear to violate the disclosure law, experts explained.
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
Clarence Thomas Acknowledges Undisclosed Real Estate Deal With Harlan Crow and Discloses Private Jet Flights
The new filing comes after ProPublica’s reporting on the Supreme Court justice’s beneficial relationship with the billionaire GOP megadonor. Thomas also reported three private jet trips provided by Crow.
Clarence Thomas’ 38 Vacations: The Other Billionaires Who Have Treated the Supreme Court Justice to Luxury Travel
The fullest accounting yet shows how Thomas has secretly reaped the benefits from a network of wealthy and well-connected patrons that is far more extensive than previously understood.
Senators Ask Billionaire Paul Singer and Power Broker Leonard Leo for Full Accounting of Gifts to Supreme Court Justices
The letters cite ProPublica’s reporting on an undisclosed private jet flight and Alaska fishing vacation provided to Justice Samuel Alito.
Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court
In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself.
Clarence Thomas’ Friend Acknowledges That Billionaire Harlan Crow Paid Tuition for the Child Thomas Was Raising “as a Son”
In response to ProPublica reporting, the friend said Crow covered two years of schooling for the teen, which would amount to roughly $100,000 of undisclosed gifts. Meanwhile, Democrats renewed calls for judicial ethics overhaul.
Clarence Thomas Had a Child in Private School. Harlan Crow Paid the Tuition.
Crow paid for private school for a relative Thomas said he was raising “as a son.” “This is way outside the norm,” said a former White House ethics lawyer.
In the Game of Musical Mines, Environmental Damage Takes a Back Seat
Jeff Hoops built Blackjewel into the nation’s sixth largest coal company by acquiring bankrupt mines. When it declared bankruptcy, he pivoted to other ventures, leaving polluted streams and mud-shrouded roads in his wake.
Billionaire Harlan Crow Bought Property From Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose the Deal.
The transaction is the first known instance of money flowing from Crow to the Supreme Court justice. The sale netted the GOP megadonor two vacant lots and the house where Thomas’ mother was living.
Congress Members Announce Hearing, Demand Chief Justice Investigate Clarence Thomas’ Trips
The lawmakers said the chief justice was duty-bound to conduct a “swift, thorough, independent and transparent investigation” of Thomas’ undisclosed travel with billionaire Harlan Crow in order to “safeguard public faith in the judiciary.”
Clarence Thomas Defends Undisclosed “Family Trips” With GOP Megadonor. Here Are the Facts.
In response to a ProPublica report, Thomas explained why he did not disclose lavish travel provided by billionaire Harlan Crow. But legal experts maintain the justice was required to make these disclosures.
Lawmakers Call for Investigation and Ethics Reforms in Response to ProPublica Report on Clarence Thomas
Influential Democratic legislators are pushing for changes at the Supreme Court and a probe into Thomas’ undisclosed luxury trips provided by powerful conservative donor Harlan Crow.
Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire
Island-hopping on a superyacht. Private jet rides around the world. The undisclosed gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the Supreme Court. “It’s incomprehensible to me that someone would do this,” says one former judge.
The Cold War Legacy Lurking in U.S. Groundwater
For the first time, ProPublica has cataloged cleanup efforts at the 50-plus sites where uranium was processed to fuel the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Even after regulators say cleanup is complete, polluted water and sickness are often left behind.
