Aaron C. Davis

Aaron C. Davis

@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

Investigative Reporter @ProPublica. Signal: acdavis.77 aaron.davis@propublica.org

1.6K followers145 following25 posts

Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

NEW: Trump’s mega Venezuelan oil deal, signed by Hegseth and Rubio, benefits an unknown group of investors and was intentionally crafted to keep the next U.S. president or future leaders of Venezuela from undoing it. @propublica.org saw the secret contract: www.propublica.org/article/trum...

propublica.orgThe Secret Terms of Trump’s Venezuelan Oil DealThe Trump administration committed the U.S. to taking a large stake in a Venezuelan company, some of whose owners and investors are shielded from public view. The exact details of the agreement over o...
Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

NEW: A private equity executive took a top Pentagon job last year. Then a consulting firm he’d kept ties to starting winning major defense contracts - including a no-bid, quarter-billion dollar deal to advise his office.

Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

George Kollitides, the behind-the scenes Pentagon powerbroker close to deputy defense secretary Steve Feinberg left Alvarez & Marsal Capital last week after ProPublica started looking into the deals. Read my first story for ProPublica! www.propublica.org/article/geor...

propublica.orgThe Pentagon Gave $350 Million in Contracts to a Firm Closely Tied to a Senior Defense Department OfficialThe top Pentagon official left Alvarez & Marsal Capital after ProPublica started looking into his financial ties. The contracts with a related company are another example of firms close to the Trump a...
Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

What’s been lost by the gutting of DOJ? Before Trump was reelected, a disgraced CEO handed the FBI a 50-page document, detailing alleged bribes to Sen. Collins and others in Congress. When Trump’s DOJ dismantled the anti-corruption unit that investigated him, the congressional probe died too.

Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

My ProPublica colleagues are out today with a jaw-dropping account of the halted investigation, which raises serious questions for Sen. Collins and Trump’s DOJ. Read it here, for free: www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

propublica.orgThe FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the WayAfter the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

ProPublica scoop: “This is being directed by the Main Justice…I objected in the strongest possible terms.” An extraordinary letter by a federal prosecutor in MN says DOJ blocked plans to charge ICE officer who shot an immigrant and provided a “false” account of it www.propublica.org/article/doj-...

propublica.orgTrump’s DOJ Blocked Serious ICE Shooting Charge Over Federal Prosecutor’s “Strongest Possible” ObjectionsA prosecutor planned to file civil rights charges — similar to those brought against the officers who killed George Floyd — against an ICE agent. In an email we exclusively obtained, he reveals that T...
Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

The letter helps explain how ICE officer Christian Castro was able to fight extradition from Texas in recent week. Behind the scenes DOJ officials halted charges while he was in custody. (Lesser, “false statement” charge now likely only path for accountability, letter says).

Aaron C. Davis reposted

Lawfare
@lawfaremedia.org

"Previously untold anecdotes from sources at the epicenter of the Justice Department’s implosion make familiar events both more interesting and more intelligible." @mollyroberts.bsky.social reviews "Injustice" by Carol Leonning and @byaaroncdavis.bsky.social. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/just...

lawfaremedia.orgJustice DelayedA review of Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis, “Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America’s Justice Department” (Penguin Press, 2025).
Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

WashPost pushes back on “outrageous” raid of our colleague’s home. Trump’s DOJ is “processing” reporter’s laptop but claims it hasn’t read files. WP demands info returned. “Anything less would license…newsroom raids and normalize censorship by search warrant.” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

washingtonpost.comWashington Post demands government return materials seized from reporterThe Post demanded in a court filing Wednesday that federal law enforcement officials return electronic devices the government seized from a staff reporter’s home.
Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

Thank you to all who have purchased a copy and helped keep alive an accurate history of that dark day. Understanding what happened then – and since then - inside the Justice Department will be crucial for America and the rule of the law going forward.

Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

It’s been an amazing week, humbling for the things said about our book, and heartening to see so many Americans engaged in discussion about the state of the Justice Department and our democracy. Looking forward to our conversation tonight in Boston with Heather Cox Richardson.

Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

The FBI manhunt for the J6 pipe bomber secretly led to the arrest and conviction of a bombmaker — he just turned out to be the wrong one. This and so many other new details about the 5-year-old mystery from our new book, Injustice. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... Order here: shorturl.at/GHM5h

washingtonpost.comHow the FBI’s massive search for the D.C. pipe bomber stalledFederal agents conducted a massive investigation to find the person who planted pipe bombs in D.C. the night before the Jan. 6 riot, but the case remains unsolved.
Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

“If it was anybody else, we would arrest him tomorrow.” Trump said on 60 Minutes that Biden’s DOJ wanted to keep him from winning back the White House. Our new book tells the real story: agents felt compelled by what they found hidden w/ @carolleonnig.bsky.social www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/t...

msnbc.com‘If it was anybody else, we’d arrest him tomorrow’: Justice Department aide said of TrumpA handful of documents found by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago were so sensitive that even a senior Justice Department official didn’t have authorization to see them.

Aaron C. Davis reposted

Penguin Press
@penguinpress.bsky.social

Read an exclusive excerpt from INJUSTICE by @carolleonnig.bsky.social and @byaaroncdavis.bsky.social -- one of many inside-the-room reports from the book that explain how America got here and what’s really been happening inside DOJ. washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @washingtonpost.com

washingtonpost.comHow Jack Smith’s strongest case against Donald Trump collapsedSeeking to get the classified documents case to a jury before the 2024 election, the special counsel made a fateful decision that some in his office saw as a misstep.
Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

Smith’s team first miscalculated the odds of getting Judge Cannon. But he was set on taking the high (some would say hard) road to prosecute Trump. One of many inside-the-room reports in INJUSTICE that explain how America got here and what’s really been happening inside DOJ. Written w @CarolLeonnig

shorturl.atInjustice by Carol Leonnig, Aaron C. Davis: 9780593831373 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: BooksFrom Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis, a shocking investigation of unparalleled depth into the subversion of the Justice Department over...
Aaron C. Davis
@byaaroncdavis.bsky.social

NEW: In 2023 memo, L.A. fire chief warned of “significant” gap in city’s wildfire defense. It lacked a professional crew to set and maintain fire lines. WashPost probe found the unit was delayed by bureaucracy and budget pressures, and still not staffed. www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025...

washingtonpost.comA key ‘weakness’ in L.A.’s wildfire strategy went unaddressed for years, Post probe showsIn a memo that has not been previously reported, chief told city fire commissioners that L.A. relied almost entirely on overburdened “hand crews” from other jurisdictions to handle its brush fire emer...

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