The Muckraker

With the federal government poised to rescue teetering mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, critics of the companies are having their "I told you so" moment.

As NPR reports today, those critics point to Freddie's and Fannie's political connections and lobbying power as the reason they haven't been more tightly regulated. CIR's Daniella De Franco and I spotlight some of the big names associated with the mortgage companies, from McCain mega-fundraiser Wayne Berman to Democratic operative Harold Ickes.

How did Fannie and Freddie build such an arsenal? Well, they hired some important people. And then there were the presidential appointments to their boards. This from a 2003 Washington Post story:

During a chat at the White House in 1994, retiring Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.) recalls President Bill Clinton saying, "You've been a great friend, Dennis, what can I do for you?"

"I told him I wanted to be on the board of Freddie Mac or Fannie Mac," DeConcini said in an interview last week. A short time later, Clinton granted the wish, naming the senator to the board of McLean-based Freddie Mac, where DeConcini served for five years and earned tens of thousands of dollars in cash, stock and stock options.

A year-long-investigation by The Sacramento Bee examines the past criminal histories of soldiers and Marines. The Bee linked 70 military personnel with “questionable backgrounds” who were involved with criminal incidents in the military or back home. The Bee is one of the first news organizations to examine military personnel’s past histories in connection with recent incidents.

A number of those incidents were identified for the first time through military records; even in some well-publicized incidents, The Bee uncovered criminal records not previously made public.

Though dozens of these soldiers would not have qualified for law enforcement jobs in this country, the military sent them to Iraq, where troops often function as police officers.

The New York Times wrote about how the number of waivers the Army granted to new recruits with criminal backgrounds grew by 65 percent in 2007. More recently the Times looked at 121 veterans who committed or are charged with a killing in the War Torn series.

"There are days when the pollution is so bad it blocks out the sun," says Carol Taylor a Texas resident living fifteen miles from a TXU operated power plant. TXU, a "political powerhouse" and the operator of four coal-fired power plants in Texas and owner of three of the five worst polluting plants in the country has been inaccurately reporting its sulfur dioxide emissions to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality since 1997, reports the Center for Public Integrity. A review conducted by CPI showed that from 1997 to 2006, "TXU's coal-fired plants exceeded federal emission limits nearly 650 times, spewing more than 1.3 million pounds of excess sulfur dioxide into the Texas air." How has TXU over-emitted for ten years with one $720 violation penalty? Joaquin Sapien from Fort Worth Weekly reports that enforcement is not adequately regulated on the federal level: "Although the EPA keeps records, it relies on state agencies to enforce federal air pollution standards. In Texas, state law requires companies to file deviation reports to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality when a power plant exceeds federal emissions limits." The TCEQ has allowed power plants to "self-report" their emissions levels and has failed to compare filed reports from the plants with federal data from the EPA.

Sapien reports that:

Prominent doctors in the east Texas medical community are concerned that TCEQ may have failed to force TXU to adhere to its federal emissions limits. "The tools I have to help people suffering from chest disease and respiratory ailments are fairly limited, and if they [TCEQ] are letting polluters exceed their limits, then they are counteracting what we are trying do here, as physicians," said Dr. David Coultas, a pulmonologist at the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, one of the nation's most prestigious lung and chest disease research institutions, located about 25 miles west of Martin Lake. He said many of his patients complain that their symptoms are intensified on days when air pollution is particularly bad.

Texas citizens are addressing health and environmental threats through grassroots activism, lawsuits and lobbying. Records gathered by the Center for Public Integrity show that, "air quality enforcement came at the point of a citizen lawsuit, not from the agency (TCEQ)." However, citizens are facing a "formidable opponent" in their efforts to ensure clean air.

Sapien reports:

According to Texans for Public Justice, TXU and two investor groups spent approximately $17 million during the 2007 Texas legislative session on lobbyists, advertising, food and beverages, entertainment, and gifts — including sending 2,400 tacos to legislators and their aides on the first day of the session. TXU is never a slouch when it comes to lobbying. During the 2006 election cycle, according to another Texans for Public Justice report, TXU gave contributions to all but seven members of the Texas Legislature.

In addressing the causes of reporting discrepancies that have allowed TXU, other coal-fired power plants and oil companies to over-emit, "Eric Schaeffer, the former EPA official, said the findings show the need for TCEQ — and the legislature — to rethink whether TCEQ's self-reporting system actually works."

The word "transportation" was spoken aloud by members of Congress 122 times on July 7. "Energy" was the most commonly used word during the entire first week of June, the same week the national average price of gas hit $4. Capitol Words, a project from the Sunlight Foundation, gives viewers a snapshot of what members of Congress are talking about using a database that searches the Congressional Record and tallies how often words are used.

The Sunlight Foundation also provides other useful reporting tools: Fortune 535 tracks the net worth of members of Congress since 1995, though it also points out there is no clear way to find out how much they are really making under current laws. For example, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her family's net worth could be between $86 million and negative $9 million, according to her disclosures. The Foundation's Visualizing Earmarks feature illustrates earmark spending by agency, by type of organization, and by state—in 2005, Alaska received far more earmarked money per capita than any other state.

Two years ago the Sunlight Foundation began compiling more than eight sources on Congressional bills, resolutions, staff, reports and more. Their searchable databases create easy ways for regular people to track the movements of Congress.

The latest episode of iWitness, a new web series from FRONTLINE/World, spotlights a journalist working to expose human rights abuses in Zimbabwe—where practicing journalism "has become a crime punishable by death." The woman, who is not named and does not appear on camera to protect her identity, talks to series curator Joe Rubin by phone about some of the most striking experiences she has had reporting in Zimbabwe during Mugabe's fight to maintain power—a dangerous time for anyone who publicly criticizes him and his party.

iWitness launched in June 2008 on FRONTLINE/World's website:

The idea for iWitness grew out of a sense that we wanted to expand our network of voices from around the world and to respond more quickly to events, especially dramatic situations.

Reaching people in countries such as Iran or Burma via web cam provides an immediate and powerful storytelling tool. We'll be checking in mid story with our regular reporters, but we will also be connecting directly with activists and artists, doctors and teachers, even avatars reporting from virtual communities, such as Second Life.

>> Visit the FRONTLINE/World iWitness site to watch videos and learn more.

Edward Murrow's spirit lives on in the work of broadcast journalists he inspired, says the Radio-Television News Directors Association, which this week announced its 2008 picks for excellence in electronic reporting. Investigative reporting has its own category of the Edward R. Murrow Awards; this year's national winners are:


ABC News, Brian Ross Investigates | Prescription for Error
Television Network/Syndication Service
Chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross exposed pharmacy errors in America's major drug store chains, and their effects. Watch the original report, "Pharmacy Errors: Unreported Epidemic", or track the follow-up stories on The Blotter's Pharmacy Investigation blog.

NPR | Sexual Abuse of Native American Women
Radio Network/Syndication Service
Reporter Laura Sullivan led a two-part investigation, from South Dakota and Oklahoma, on the ongoing epidemic of sexual violence on Native American reservations. Read the transcript, listen to the original broadcasts, and dig deeper with interactive maps at "Rape Cases on Indian Lands Go Uninvestigated" and "Legal Hurdles Stall Rape Cases on Native Lands". Hear Sullivan discuss the the reporting challenges she faced in this interview with Bruce Shapiro, executive director of the Dart Center:




KNBC-TV | Contaminated
Television: Large Market
Reporter Joel Grover and his team went undercover for four months to expose contaminated food supplies delivered to Southern California restaurants, and public health officials' failure to protect the public. Explore the project site, Produce Market Investigation, to read the transcript and watch parts one, two and three of Grover's video series.

WLOX-TV | Home Sweet Meth Home
Television: Small Market
In this three-part series, reporter Keli Rabon investigated how former meth labs in Biloxi, Miss. were being rented and sold to unsuspecting people, exposing them to harmful chemicals. See the full reports: "Mississippi Failing To Protect Families From Former Meth Labs", "Meth: It Can't Be Seen, But Could Be In Your Home" and "Innocent Families Discover Meth Still Lurks In Their Homes", and follow-up stories.

WTMJ-AM | Unlawful Restraint?
Radio: Large Market
Reporter Dan O’Donnell investigated the use of restraining devices in a special education classroom in Racine, Wis. Read the transcript and listen to the original report.



Hundreds of other radio and television reports received Edward R. Murrow Awards at the regional level. Explore the full list.

The U.S. State Department has played an integral role in advising oil deals between five major western oil companies and the Iraqi government, reports Andrew E. Kramer for The New York Times. According to Kramer, "the disclosure, on the eve of the contracts’ announcement, is the first confirmation of direct American involvement in deals to open Iraq’s oil to commercial development." The small advising committee of the U.S. State Department, comprised of American government lawyers and private sector consultants told the Times "that their involvement was only to help an understaffed Iraqi ministry with technical and legal details of the contracts and that they in no way helped choose which companies got the deals." However, democratic senators led by Charles E. Schumer of New York said that the oil contracts to be awarded Monday to Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Total, and Chevron could "deepen political tensions in Iraq and endanger American soldiers."

The BBC also reported on the U.S. and other nations’ interests in investing in the six Iraqi oil fields: Rumaila, Kirkuk, Zubair, West Qurna, Bai Hassan and Maysan, and “officials’ hope that the presence of multinational oil firms in Iraq will stimulate more foreign investment.”

>> Read about daily life in Iraq on the Baghdad Bureau blog of The New York Times.

The Center for Investigative Reporting has joined the Web 2.0 revolution. Check us out on the following social networking sites:


Join us on Facebook.




Follow us on Twitter.




Share CIR videos on YouTube.




Subscribe to our iTunes podcasts.

Top investigations in the Philippines on human rights, the environment and governance and corruption were honored June 26 with the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism for 2007. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, a nonprofit promoting and protecting ethical media in the Philippines, administered the awards.

Writers for Newsbreak, an online magazine covering the nation's news and current affairs, took home the two highest honors:

• Glenda Gloria for "Trapped in a Web of Lives," her report on the disappearance of Jonas Burgos, the son of press freedom fighter Joe Burgos. She also received the Marshall McLuhan Prize, a travel study award to Canada. Gloria is managing editor of Newsbreak, the author of several books -- most recently Spin & Sell: How Political Ads Shaped the 2004 Elections -- and teaches investigative reporting at KAF Asian Center for Journalism of the Ateneo de Manila University. Reach her here.

• Roel Landingin for "The Battle for Manila's Gateway," his series of explanatory articles on the controversial opening of Terminal 3 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He also received the Australian Ambassador's Award, a travel grant to Australia. Landingin is Manila senior correspondent for The Financial Times of London and a fellow with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Earlier this year, his three-part series, "The Perils and Pitfalls of Aid," capped a 6-month PCIJ investigation into official development assistance projects, and "reflected the reluctance by many government agencies to allow public access to documents that involve use of taxpayers’ money."

Newsbreak describes its coverage as "honest, independent, and spunky reportage" that emphasizes "in-depth stories, investigative reports, incisive analysis, as well as insider stuff that give a ringside view of the workings of people, politics, and power." Paid subscribers can access the winning articles by Gloria and Landingin in its archives.

Finally, Prime Sarmiento of the PCIJ received a Plaque of Merit for "What's Swimming in Your Soup?", in which she documents the impact of domestic wastewater pollution on the Philippines' waterways and wildlife. Sarmiento now works for IPS-Asia Pacific; see more of her work on her website.

The JVOAEJ program was established in 1990 by CMFR in the name of Jaime V. Ongpin, secretary of finance during the Aquino administration, who struggled against the Marcos dictatorship and advocated a stronger alternative press. Past winners include The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Star, Newsbreak, and Philippine Graphic.

See the full list of this year's finalists here.

The pharmaceutical industry spent $168 million lobbying Capitol Hill last year, reports the Center for Public Integrity.

That's a 32 percent increase from 2006, making it Washington's largest lobby. Big Pharma and other health-product manufacturers spent a combined $189 million on lobbying in 2007, nearly three times the $67 million they spent in 1998. Drug interests have spent more than $1 billion on federal lobbying efforts in the past decade.

The spending binge helped fuel some big wins for the pharmaceutical industry, CPI reports. Some of their biggest wins include blocking inexpensive drug imports, patent protection, and securing greater market access in international free trade agreements.

The intense lobbying effort wasn't the only weapon in their arsenal. In the current election cycle, the industry has given more than $14 million to candidates—half to Democrats, half to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The biggest recipients? Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and his vanquished opponent, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

Since the 1990 election cycle, the pharmaceutical and health-products industry has contributed more than $154 million to campaign coffers, nearly twice as much to Republicans than Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.