J. David McSwane
I write about national issues, including everything from health care to business to civil rights issues.
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I want to hear from current and former federal workers, lawyers and advocates — really anyone who sees an injustice worth investigating.
What I Cover
I’m following the Trump administration’s effect on average Americans in the context of civil rights protections. This intersects with many federal agencies that oversee issues including the environment, health care, business, housing and more.
My Background
I’m an investigative reporter and author with 20 years of experience in holding powerful figures to account while exposing corruption and injustice. I joined ProPublica in 2019 and became one of the lead reporters on COVID-19, focused on federal failures and rampant fraud. That reporting culminated in the 2022 book “Pandemic, Inc.”
While I’m based in Washington, D.C., I’m looking for stories that reach far into this nation, connecting policies and executive actions to their real human impacts. As the Trump administration signals a broad challenge to civil rights and other protections, I believe it is crucial to document and understand how citizens are affected.
Before ProPublica, I was an investigative reporter for the Dallas Morning News, where my reporting on the state’s outsourced Medicaid system, which benefited companies that systematically denied care to sick children and disabled adults, spurred legislative reforms. My work has resulted in courts-martial, criminal convictions and state and federal criminal investigations, and it has forced lawmakers to invest in social programs. I’ve won some trinkets along the way, too, including a Peabody, Harvard’s Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, the Worth Bingham Prize and two IRE awards.
Cannabis, Lies and Foreign Cash: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through the Underground Mask Trade
Contracts, emails and spreadsheets that Juanita and Dawn Ramos shared with ProPublica detail how domestic and foreign investors, many with marijuana industry ties, seized upon the nation’s public health disaster.
You Can Make Millions Selling Masks to the Government in Three Easy Steps
The federal government is essentially providing seed money to PPE startups, including some run by people accused of fraud. Mask brokers describe a simple blueprint for buying masks from China to get rich.
One Federal Agency Was Suing Him for Fraud. Another Paid His Company Millions for Masks.
Court records show the federal government gave $20 million in contracts to a company partly controlled by a man with a history of shady business practices.
FEMA Ordered $10.2 Million in COVID-19 Testing Kits It’s Now Warning States Not to Use
The faulty lab equipment sold by a company whose owner has faced fraud allegations is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.
He Removed Labels That Said “Medical Use Prohibited,” Then Tried to Sell Thousands of Masks to Officials Who Distribute to Hospitals
Using TaskRabbit and Venmo, a Silicon Valley investor and his business partner had workers repackage non-medical KN95 masks so he could sell them to Texas emergency workers.
The Trump Administration Paid Millions for Test Tubes — and Got Unusable Mini Soda Bottles
The plastic tubes supplied for coronavirus testing by Fillakit, a first-time federal contractor with a sketchy owner, don’t even fit the racks used to analyze samples. And they may be contaminated anyway.
The Secret, Absurd World of Coronavirus Mask Traders and Middlemen Trying To Get Rich Off Government Money
The federal government and states have fueled an unregulated, chaotic market for masks ruled by oddballs, ganjapreneurs and a shadowy network of investors.
A Closer Look at Federal COVID Contractors Reveals Inexperience, Fraud Accusations and a Weapons Dealer Operating Out of Someone’s House
The Trump administration has promised at least $1.8 billion to 335 first-time contractors, often without competitive bidding or thorough vetting of their backgrounds.
The TSA Hoarded 1.3 Million N95 Masks Even Though Airports Are Empty and It Doesn’t Need Them
TSA officials stockpiled a huge shipment of N95 masks they knew they didn’t need even after two agency officials asked to donate them.
The White House Pushed FEMA To Give its Biggest Coronavirus Contract to a Company That Never Had to Bid
The Trump administration has rushed through more than $760 million in contracts outside the usual bidding process during its haphazard coronavirus response. It’s highly unusual for the White House to step into FEMA’s supply bidding process.