James Bandler
James Bandler is a reporter at ProPublica. Since joining the newsroom in September 2018, he has reported on Big Tech companies’ efforts to influence major contracts at the Pentagon, Amazon’s prioritization of speed and growth over safety in building its delivery network, the CDC’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising popularity of AR-style rifles.
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James Bandler is a reporter at ProPublica. Since joining the newsroom in September 2018, he has reported on Big Tech companies’ efforts to influence major contracts at the Pentagon, Amazon’s prioritization of speed and growth over safety in building its delivery network, the CDC’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising popularity of AR-style rifles.
James has been a reporter at Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and the Rutland Herald-Barre Times Argus newspapers. At the Journal, Bandler was a co-author of “The Perfect Payday,” a 2006 investigation that exposed the widespread practice of backdating stock options by business executives. The series, produced by a team of reporters, led to the paper’s first Pulitzer Prize for public service, as well as criminal prosecutions, massive fines and disgorgements.
Bandler’s work at the Journal also included stories on a global price-fixing ring in the chemical shipping industry, an exposé on the criminal life of Walmart’s vice chairman and stories on accounting fraud at Xerox. As editor-at-large at Fortune, he produced in-depth pieces on a con artist who swindled Fortune 500 companies, the collapse of AIG, the fall of IBM’s CEO heir-apparent in an insider-trading scandal, the travails of Hewlett-Packard and a Gerald Loeb Award-winning story on Bernie Madoff.
How Peter Thiel Turned a Retirement Account for the Middle Class Into a Tax-Free Piggy Bank
Roth IRAs were intended to help average working Americans save, but IRS records show Thiel and other ultrawealthy investors have used them to amass vast untaxed fortunes.
CDC Shut Down a Lab Involved in Making Faulty Coronavirus Tests
A CDC lab involved in making faulty coronavirus tests sent to state and local officials early in the pandemic was closed down hours after an October investigation by ProPublica exposed key mistakes the CDC made in manufacturing those tests.
The Justice Department Sues Walmart, Accusing It of Illegally Dispensing Opioids
Two years after the Trump administration walked away from charging Walmart criminally for its role in the opioid crisis, the DOJ is back, making the same claims but seeking softer penalties.
Inside the Fall of the CDC
How the world’s greatest public health organization was brought to its knees by a virus, the president and the capitulation of its own leaders, causing damage that could last much longer than the coronavirus.
Inside the Trump Administration’s Decision to Leave the World Health Organization
Despite Trump’s declared exit from the WHO, officials continued working toward reforms and to prevent withdrawal. This week, they were told they must justify any cooperation with the WHO on the grounds of national security and public health safety.
Inside the Union Where Coronavirus Put 98% of Members Out of Work
Unite Here was a rare union success story. But then the coronavirus decimated the restaurant, food service and hotel industries, where most of its 307,000 members work. “We’re fighting for our survival,” its president told ProPublica.
Walmart Was Almost Charged Criminally Over Opioids. Trump Appointees Killed the Indictment.
Even as company pharmacists protested, Walmart kept filling suspicious prescriptions, stoking the country’s opioid epidemic. A Republican U.S. Attorney in Texas thought the evidence was damning. Trump’s political appointees? Not so much.
Inside Documents Show How Amazon Chose Speed Over Safety in Building Its Delivery Network
Amazon ignored or dismissed safety concerns about its delivery network to prioritize speed and explosive growth, according to new documents and interviews with insiders.
Senator Demands Answers From Amazon on Delivery Crashes and Contract Drivers
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, citing a ProPublica investigation, blasts Amazon for “evasive practices and moves to cut regulatory corners.”
How Amazon and Silicon Valley Seduced the Pentagon
Tech moguls like Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt have gotten unprecedented access to the Pentagon. And one whistleblower who raised flags has paid the price.