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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.

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.

Buying Your Vote

In Montana, Dark Money Helped Democrats Hold a Key Senate Seat

With control of the Senate at stake, liberals hit the streets and bought ads for a libertarian candidate who likely siphoned crucial votes away from the Republican challenger.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

Karl Rove's Dark Money Group Promised IRS It Would Spend 'Limited' Money on Elections

Crossroads GPS, which has spent tens of millions from secret donors on elections, told the IRS in its 2010 application that its efforts would focus on education, policy-making and research.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

Check ’Em Out: Donations to Dark Money Group Revealed

ProPublica and Frontline are putting checks written to Western Tradition Partnership online. Released under a court order last week, the records give a rare look inside the controversial dark money group.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

Key Montana Senate Race Draws Deluge of Dark Money

More TV ads have been purchased in the race than in any other Senate contest in the country, including many paid for by outside money groups.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

Dark Money Group’s Donors Revealed

Bank records released under a court order show that Western Tradition Partnership's donors included an Oklahoma businessman, a Colorado builder and other dark money groups linked to Ron Paul.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

Dark Money Group's Bank Records Suggest Ties to Campaign Work

Bank records released Friday by aMontana district court judge show that the wife of a key player for WesternTradition Partnership signed many of the group's checks. She runs a companythat did work for candidates.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

A Pop-Up Problem

By the time the Internal Revenue Service discovers that a group has crossed the line from nonprofit promotion to politicking, many operators have boarded up shop and moved on.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

More Evidence Key Dark Money Group May Have Misled IRS

Western Tradition Partnership's alleged big donor said he had actually never heard of the group.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

Documents Found in Meth House Bare Inner Workings of Dark Money Group

Boxes of records turned over to Montana authorities show that a top person from Western Tradition Partnership interacted with candidates and helped shape their election efforts, possibly violating laws that bar coordination between campaigns and outside groups.

by Kim Barker,

Buying Your Vote

Did the Dark Money Group that Spurred a Landmark Ruling Mislead the IRS?

A nonprofit group that filed a lawsuit that led the Supreme Court to apply its Citizens United decision to states told the IRS that it wouldn't intervene in elections – after it already had.

by Kim Barker,