The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "political ethics" ...
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Green Energy: Contracts, Connections and the Collapse of Solyndra
Beginning in March, the Center's Ronnie Greene and ABC's Matthew Mosk and Brian Ross exposed flaws in the Department of Energy's billion-dollar spending spree, revealed deep links between Obama campaign bundlers and energy contracts and foreshadowed the financial and political storm that later engulfed Solyndra. Our reporting for "Green Energy: Contracts, Connections and the Collapse of Solyndra" broke ground before Solyndra's meltdown, and went well beyond the company in revealing a web of connections entangling a department lauded for its innovation. Working as full-reporting partners, our stories tied major Obama donors to lucrative green energy contracts for everything from electric cars to diesel substitutes. After over a year of reporting, we produced 50,000 words for the Center's website, thousands more on ABC's site and broadcasts on World News Tonight, Good Morning America and Nightline. Our stories, built from FOIA requests that yielded thousands of contract, financial and ethics documents, served as a template for national media reports that followed.
Tags: contracts; green energy; Obama; green energy; spending
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"Congressional Scholarship Violations"
The Dallas Morning News reports that U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson used her political power to benefit family members. Reporters revealed the Johnson "steered tens of thousands of dollars in college scholarships" during the span of several years to "four of her own relatives," and to two of a "top aide."
Tags: Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson; Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; ethics; Democrat
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"House for Sale"
After retiring as "speaker of the Missouri House," Rod Jetton focused on his political consulting business and raised money for many "Republican lawmakers." An in-depth investigation into Jetton's business revealed cases "during the 2009 legislative session that seemed to test the tolerances of state and federal law."
Tags: Rod Jetton; Speaker of Missouri House; Ethics Commission; Rex's World; Rex Sinquefield; Steven Tilley
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Speaker Richardson
Georgia state politics fell apart after House Speaker Glenn Richardson's ex-wife revealed he'd had an affair and had lied about attempting suicide. His wife also had e-mails detailing how a lobbyist had aided her now ex-husband with the adultery. Richardson resigned and eventually the other "top three" House leaders were voted out of their positions.
Tags: Glenn Richardson; Susan Richardson; affair; ethics; Atlanta Gas Light; Georgia house speaker; Raymon White
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A Political Crime Spree
Reporters worked for years to expose the corruption within the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who rode into office on promises of reform and transparency. Tribune stories unraveled the complex inner workings of the governor and his closest advisers, showing how they rewarded friends and political contributors with state work, how people who did business with the governor's wife got benefits from state government and how politics infiltrated law enforcement and regulatory agencies. These stories helped lay the foundation for a massive federal investigation that eventually led to the governor's arrest.
Tags: Blagojevich; government investigation; FOIA; search warrants; fraud; ethics legislation; Chicago governor arrested; shoe-leather reporting; administrative cover up;
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The Mark Foley Investigation
Almost a year after the media received the first emails Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) sent to underage Congressional pages, ABCNews.com's investigative team went online with the story. Using the interactive function of their website, former pages forwarded to ABC more email exchanges they’d had with Foley, some of which were sexually explicit. After the first posting, Foley staffers claimed the pages "misunderstood", and that political opponents were smearing Foley. When the more explicit emails were read back to Foley, he tried to bargain with the investigative team: he would resign if the site didn't post the emails. ABC said no deal, and Foley resigned the next day. The issue morphed into "who knew" and why Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert had done nothing before to stop Foley's behavior. The story sparked an investigation by the FBI's Cyber Division, and criminal charges were filed against Foley in Florida. This series includes interviews with Brian Ross on breaking the story, and other media stories about the ABCNews.com coverage.
Tags: Capitol Hill Page; Congressional Pages; Page Alumni Association; House Ethics Committee; sexually explicit messages to minors; Congressman Mark Foley; email messages; AOL Instant Messenger; Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert; FBI investigation; FBI's Cyber Division; House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children; Department of Justice; pedophile; Wired Safety
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Brian Ross Investigates: Conduct Unbecoming
"In a year-long series of stories for World News and Nightline, ABC News' chief investigative correspondent and his team reported on a pattern of unbecoming and unethical behavior in offficial Washington that culminated in the revelation's of Congreeman Mark Foley's sexually-explicit internet messages with high school students who served as Congressional pages." Stories in the series also examine some of the consequences from the lack of an ethics code for the Supreme Court and a probe of unethical behavior of a retired U.S. General.
Tags: broadcast; financial disclosure forms; lobbyist Jack Abramoff; Congressman Tom Delay; Congressman Mark Foley; instant messaging; Congressional Pages; House Ethics Committee; Kyle "Dusty" Foggo; CIA; Air Force; Department of Defense Inspector General's Office; Federal Election Commission; Political Money Line; Federalist Sociey; legal ethics; Supreme Court; Congress; Pentagon; influence peddling; FBI; IRS; Brent Wilkes; Taxpayers for Common Sense; Keith Ashdown; Porter Goss; Thunderbirds; General T. Michael Mosely; Senator Tom Coburn; General Hal Hornburg; Project on Government Oversight; Danielle Brian; U.S. Trademark Office; General John Jumper; Blue Angels; midterm elections; access; Campaign Legal Center; Gerry Hebert; pay to play; House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children; sexually explicit messages; sexual exploitation; graphic language; solicitation; Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert; Internet sex; FBI investigation; Congressman Tom Reynolds
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Series on Congressman Jerry Weller
Congressman Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) is married to a foreign government official, Zury Rios Sosa, daughter of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt. Weller is a member of a committee "whose main focus is Latin America," and "has been silent about Guatemalan problems that affect the U.S., particularly drug smuggling." The investigation also found that Weller failed to report on his congressional disclosure form the amount of beachfront property he owns in Nicaragua, putting him in "violation of house ethics rules and U.S. law."
Tags: Jerry Weller; Zury Rios Sosa; Efrain Rios Montt; Guatemala; political conflicts of interest; politicians' financial disclosure forms
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Peddling Influence
This series examined the influence of special interests on the Texas Legislature and the lack of oversight by regulators. Linking campaign and lobbyist spending to legislation, the stories showed how lawmakers have favored lobbyists and their pet causes over the public interest, And we discovered that the Texas Ethics Commission has failed to property investigate complaints of violations and allowed questionable practices to continue.
Tags: state government; politicians; politics; special interests; legislation; congress; watchdog reporting
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Prospecting on Capitol Hill
As lawmakers distribute a growing share of their budget dollars in earmarks, there's a gold rush among charities trying to get some of the money. They're learning how to lobby Capitol Hill and make themselves attractive to lawmakers. The money doesn't go to the best charities -- just the ones with the best connections.
Tags: charity; nonprofits; politicians; lobbyists; political ethics; political scandal; Citizens Against Government Waste; CAR