Resource Center

Stories

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 "sniper" ...

  • Snipergate

    This CBS Evening News report broke the story of Hillary Clinton's March '08 embellishment of her trip to Bosnia as First Lady in 1996. On several occasions, Mrs. Clinton falsely claimed she'd had to "duck sniper fire" upon landing at Bosnia's airport shortly after the Ward had officially ended. It was a trip on which

    Tags: Hillary Clinton; Bosnia; duck sniper fire; campaign scandal; misstatement; Clinton's account; political lies

    By Sharyl Attkisson; Mary Hager; Steve Chaggaris; Fernando Suarez; Andres Triay; Rick Kaplan

    CBS News

    2008

  • Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke

    Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm were the owners of Rainbow Farm, a 52-acre campground and concert venue with the mission of advocating the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana. Their activities included holding events on the property, events at which attendees smoked marijuana and which trumpeted many uses for hemp. Though the two men did not sell or deal the drug, these activities drew the ire of the local Cass County, MI prosecutor, who began to focus efforts on getting Rainbow Farm shut down. Rohm's son was taken away from the two men, and a series of legal pushes by the police ended in a standoff at Rainbow Farm. In the end, FBI snipers shot and killed both men, who had burned Rainbow Farm to the ground in an act of protest. Author Dean Kuiper examines the buildup to the fateful standoff, and discusses what Rainbow Farm's purpose was in this book. Ironically, this story was widely reported in the Midwest before the events of Sept. 11, 2001 pushed it off the front page. Yet Kuiper stuck with it to produce this story.

    Tags: Cannabis; hemp; marijuana; drug legalization; Ruby Ridge; Waco; Tommy Chong; stoner; FBI

    By Dean Kuipers

    Book

    2006

  • At Large

    The story uncovered a deeply flawed investigation by an overmatched and overconfident police agency that led to the wrongful arrest and prosecution of a Bay Area man accused of being the freeway sniper.

    Tags: police; sniper; San Francisco; the freeway sniper; wrongful arrest

    By Robert Gammon

    New Times (Oakland, Calif.)

    2005

  • G.I. Jerk

    This investigation explores the way one man, Phil Haberman, scammed the U.S. Army. Though in reality he was only an assistant cook, he forged paperwork and lied pathologically to convince many people that he was a sniper with the Army Special Forces. This investigation de-constructs his lies and talks to the people he took advantage of.

    Tags: war; military; army; soldiers; fraud; federal government; Iraq

    By Glenna Whitley

    Dallas Observer

    2005

  • Desperate Housewife

    This riveting story takes readers inside the mind of Michelle Theer, a psychologist convicted in the murder of her husband. Police and military investigators said Mrs. Theer and her lover, John Diamond, an Army sniper, planned the murder out of lust and greed.

    Tags: murder; crime; homicide; marriage; psychology

    By Ed Pound

    U.S. News & World Report

    2005

  • Killing By Numbers

    "This is the story of three young Army snipers who were court-martialed after they and other members of their sniper team killed at least four unarmed Iraqis." Benjamin "showed that the ensuing chaos blurred the boundaries of acceptable conduct in a war zone. In fact, in three of the four killings, the soldier's actions appeared to be within the bounds of their commanders' orders and interpretation of the Law of Armed Conflict."

    Tags: military; army; Iraq; civilian; sniper; Army Evan Vela; Pentagon;

    By Mark Benjamin

    Salon.com

    2008

  • Errant gun dealer, wary agents paved way for Beltway sniper tragedy

    This story deals with the gun dealer that supplied John Muhammad, and Lee Boyd Malvo with the military weapon used in the sniper shootings. Law enforcement sources say Lee Boyd Malvo told investigators he shoplifted the gun from the Bulls Eye firing range. The store has no sales record, and can't produce records for scores of other missing guns. Bull's Eye's negligent operation and the government's timid enforcement of errant gun dealers contributed to the tragedy according to released documents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and numerous interviews with current and former agency employees .

    Tags: sniper; Bull's Eye's firing range; Lee Boyd Malvo; John Muhammad; Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms; gun supplier; ATF; ATF National Tracing Center; Bulls Eye Shooter Supply; Pacific Shooters Supply; 1968 Gun Control Act; Federal Firearms License; National Rifle Association

    By Mike Carter;Steve Miletich;Justin Mayo

    Seattle Times

    2003

  • The Big Gun: Fifty-caliber sniper rifles can shoot through bullet-proof glass and cinderblock walls and hit targets a mile away -- and they're perfectly legal.

    This article talks about the dangers of fifty-caliber sniper rifles. According to the author, "The rifles...are the biggest firearms you can buy without a special dispensation from the government. Fifty-caliber rifles shoot ammunition designed to chew up armored vehicles, and they're accurate, in the right hands, at a mile or more. They can shoot through bulletproof glass, armored limousines, cinder-block walls...from as far away as the Washington Monument through the forehead of someone standing on the steps of the Capitol. And any eighteen-year-old can buy one with no more paperwork than it takes to buy a .22 at Wal-Mart."

    Tags: guns; violence; fifty-caliber rifles; .50 rifles; rifles; ammunition; long-range guns; bulletproof

    By Dan Baum

    Rolling Stone

    2001

  • Sniper Attacks

    In October of 2002, a sniper shot 13 people at random in the Washington area and in the end was linked to 22 shootings in seven states. The Washington Post covered the story from the first attack to the arrest of the suspects.

    Tags: sniper attacks; crime; murder

    By Martin Well;Petula Dvorak;Susan Schmidt;Patti Davis;Carol Morello;Christian Davenport;Hamil Harris;Craig Whitlock;Sari Horwitz;Manuel Roig-Franzia;Scott Higham;April Witt;Peter Whoriskey;Serge Kovaleski;Marcia Slacum Greene;Josh White;Alan Lengel

    Washington Post

    2002

  • The .50 Caliber Militia

    BNNtv investigates the militia movement in America. Contrary to ideas that the militia movement is declining BNNtv found it thriving. BNNtv traces an underground network of traffickers in the extremely lethal .50-caliber sniper rifle. The story reveals that the State Commander of the infamous Michigan Militia was almost caught in an ATF raid at the home of a convicted felon and gun dealer in Arizona.

    Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; militias; Michigan Militia; ATF

    By Steven Rosenbaum;Pamela Yoder;Bruce Kennedy;Dodge Billingsley;Kate Jarvis

    None

    2001