Justin Elliott
I am a ProPublica reporter covering business and politics.
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What I Cover
I report on money and power. I’m currently focused on the second Trump administration, but I’m always looking for under-covered business and politics stories.
My Background
I’ve been a reporter with ProPublica for more than a decade. In 2023, my colleagues and I revealed how a set of politically connected billionaires provided lavish gifts and travel to Supreme Court justices over many years. Those stories won the Pulitzer Prize for public service.
I was previously on a team of reporters documenting how the rich avoid taxes for “The Secret IRS Files” series. I co-wrote a story revealing how tech mogul Peter Thiel turned a Roth IRA into a multibillion-dollar tax haven.
My work has spurred congressional investigations and changes to federal law. My coverage of TurboTax-maker Intuit’s misleading marketing tactics led to a settlement delivering $141 million back to consumers.
In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, I have won a George Polk Award, the Selden Ring Award and a Gerald Loeb Award for business journalism. I earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University.
You can send me feedback, story tips and documents via email at [email protected], or by Signal or WhatsApp at 774-826-6240.
If you want to better understand how I handle tips and story ideas, read my piece on the important role of reader tips in the Supreme Court series.
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 Billionaire Playbook: How Sports Owners Use Their Teams to Avoid Millions in Taxes
Owners like Steve Ballmer can take the kinds of deductions on team assets — everything from media deals to player contracts — that industrialists take on factory equipment.
Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free
Using lobbying, the revolving door and “dark pattern” customer tricks, Intuit fended off the government’s attempts to make tax filing free and easy, and created its multi-billion-dollar franchise.
How the Red Cross Raised Half a Billion Dollars for Haiti and Built Six Homes
Even as the group has publicly celebrated its work, insider accounts detail a string of failures
The Staffers Helping Elon Musk Dismantle and Downsize the U.S. Government, One Agency at a Time
Musk and his lieutenants are reshaping the government and its mission with the blessing of President Trump. ProPublica has confirmed the names and roles of more than 30 staffers affiliated with the billionaire.
The Elite Lawyers Working for Elon Musk’s DOGE Include Former Supreme Court Clerks
Much attention has been paid to the young Silicon Valley engineers working for Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, but the group has also hired high-powered legal talent.
Elon Musk’s DOGE Is Expected to Examine Another Treasury System Next Week
The new target, sources said, is a sensitive database that tracks the flow of money across the government.
Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has been unleashed on federal agencies. ProPublica is attempting to document who is working with him and what they are doing.
To Pay for Trump Tax Cuts, House GOP Floats Plan to Slash Benefits for the Poor and Working Class
A menu of options being circulated by congressional Republicans also includes new tax cuts for corporations and the ultrawealthy.
Donald Trump Controls a Publicly Traded Company. Now He Will Pick Its Regulator.
There have been internal concerns that Trump Media could be misleading investors, a source said. But with its largest shareholder about to be president, experts doubt the SEC is up to the job of investigating Truth Social’s parent company.
Trump Media Outsourced Jobs to Mexico Even as Trump Pushes “America First”
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump threatened businesses that send jobs south of the border, while his own company that runs the Truth Social platform outsourced coding jobs to workers in Mexico, outraging some staff members.
Trump Media Whistleblower Blasts Company for Outsourcing Jobs Abroad as Betrayal of “America First”
An internal Truth Social complaint reviewed by ProPublica calls for the firing of CEO Devin Nunes, alleging he has pursued an “America Last” hiring policy, “consistently lied” and made the company vulnerable to action by regulators.
Top Execs Exit Trump Media Amid Allegations of CEO’s Mismanagement and Retaliation
Several people involved with the former president’s company, operator of Truth Social, believe the departures were retaliation following internal complaints about CEO Devin Nunes to the company board.
Trump Company CEO’s Unexplained Meeting With Balkans Leader Raises Specter of New Conflict
Devin Nunes, the former congressman who runs the company behind Truth Social, traveled to North Macedonia as former President Trump vies to once again shape U.S. foreign policy.