Chris Bing

Some personal news: Friday was my last day at ProPublica after joining last January. More on what’s next later. It was an incredible journey in that short time. ProPublica’s mission and its ability to attract top talent is what makes it special – the people who work here are really good.

Chris Bing reposted

Josh Kaplan

@josh-kaplan.bsky.social

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...

Blockbuster story about Susan Collins — a shocking, detailed window into the dark side of money in politics.

ProPublica@propublica.org

NEW: In late 2024, FBI investigators had enough evidence to launch a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins. Then Trump was reelected and eviscerated the FBI and DOJ teams handling public corruption probes.

Chris Bing reposted

Jesse Eisinger

@jeisinger.bsky.social

And don’t sleep on the part where we bust Cleta Mitchell (yes, that one) for helping to hatch a campaign finance cover-up:

Jesse Eisinger@jeisinger.bsky.social

NEW: In ‘24, the FBI sought to launch a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins. Then Trump eviscerated the FBI & DOJ public corruption teams. ProPublica unearthed the investigation and you can read it 👇 www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

Chris Bing reposted

Tim O’Brien

@timobrien.bsky.social

@williamturton.bsky.social

“Kao laid out in devastating detail how his operation worked. He gave agents a 50-page document naming dozens of lobbyists, congressional staffers and members of Congress who he said helped him trade cash for contracts.” www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

Chris Bing reposted

William Turton

In 2024 the former CEO of a defense contractor made a stunning confession to two FBI agents. He alleged that was the ringleader of a massive pay-to-play operation, bribing senators with campaign contributions in exchange for govt contracts. www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

Chris Bing reposted

Molly Redden

@mtredden.bsky.social

Exclusive: In late 2024, FBI agents were looking at Sen. Susan Collins’ role in a massive illegal bribery scheme alleged by a former federal contractor. Then Trump gutted the FBI and DOJ, leaving no one to carry on the investigation – it’s dead. 🧵

Chris Bing reposted

Don Moynihan

@donmoyn.bsky.social

This seems like a pretty big deal: donors made illegal contributions to Susan Collins and then were awarded lucrative contracts after her office intervened with the Navy. An FBI investigation was dropped under Trump. www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

Legendary journalism here: We never get to see how the campaign finance system is corrupted. It’s shrouded in everyday DC influence games. Now you can

Jesse Eisinger@jeisinger.bsky.social

Chris Bing reposted

Chris Bing reposted

Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵

techcrunch.comGroup of bipartisan lawmakers ask US government to ban several hack-for-hire firms | TechCrunchThe three Indian companies are accused of using hackers to steal information used to sway litigation.

9 Sept

Group of bipartisan lawmakers ask US government to ban several hack-for-hire firms techcrunch.com/2026/09/09/g...

Chris Bing reposted

Raphael Satter

@raphae.li

15 July

New: The alleged "Void Blizzard" hacker being prosecuted in Boston on charges connected to a sweeping spy campaign against US companies and European governments is a former Kaspersky Lab employee, according to data reviewed by and a source who talked to Reuters. www.reuters.com/world/allege...

reuters.comEXCLUSIVE: Alleged Russian cyber spy in Boston case previously worked for Kaspersky, source says and documents showA computer expert facing U.S. hacking charges previously held a senior position at Moscow-based antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab, according to a person familiar with the matter and records reviewed by Re...

7 July

Can’t have some of your most important players have their worst games in memory… Pulisic, Dest, Freese really rough

7 July

For freese to make that kind of mistake, at that moment, in this stage, entirely against the run of play… it’s really bad. Whole tournament has looked relatively poor. Can’t remember the US having this bad of a goalkeeper roster in a very long time

5 July

National Geographic is still so good. A breath of fresh air - with stories of exploration and new mystery. If you haven’t read a copy in a while it’s a great time to subscribe again 🙌

4 May

Saddened to hear the news of the passing of Stewart Baker. Stewart was an important person in my career, providing contrarian view points, smart analysis and the occasional bombastic quote. Even when we disagreed, I learned a lot speaking to him on any number of natsec topics.

cnn.com4 astronauts launch on historic moon mission | CNNNASA’s Artemis II will circumnavigate the moon on the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years.

1 Apr

For once, very good news! So cool www.cnn.com/2026/04/01/s...

31 Mar

The thing about metro-ing an hour into Virginia is you get to see every form of weapons grade depression that exists

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

20 Mar

propublica.orgDOGE Goes Nuclear: How Trump Invited Silicon Valley Into America’s Nuclear Power RegulatorIn its rush to boost nuclear energy, the Trump administration is rapidly rewriting rules to ease regulations and provide financial breaks for industry. “The safety culture is under threat,” a former h...

propublica.orgDOGE Goes Nuclear: How Trump Invited Silicon Valley Into America's Nuclear Power RegulatorIn its rush to boost nuclear energy, the Trump administration is rapidly rewriting rules to ease regulations and provide financial breaks for industry. “The safety culture is under threat,” a former head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.

Chris Bing reposted

NEW: To dramatically increase the amount of energy available to power artificial intelligence, the Trump administration is rewriting thousands of pages of nuclear power regulations while downplaying safety issues and focusing on industry incentives.

Chris Bing reposted

Techmeme

@techmeme.com

12 Feb

Russia confirms it has blocked WhatsApp, citing Meta's "unwillingness to comply with Russian law", and proposes that Russians switch to the state-owned Max app (Reuters) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Chris Bing reposted

Sam Levin

@samtlevin.bsky.social

3 Feb

After Border Patrol shot two people in Portland, DHS claimed they were "vicious gang members" tied to a past shooting. But records I obtained reveal a US prosecutor has since directly contradicted DHS, saying, "We're not suggesting he is a gang member." My dive into how DHS' claims have collapsed:

theguardian.comDHS’s account of two Venezuelans shot by border patrol falls apart in court: ‘A smear campaign’Immigration officials said agent shot two ‘vicious gang members’ in Portland, but records obtained by the Guardian reveal US prosecutor contradicted claims

I still believe this work is vital for our democracy though the number of people doing it is shrinking and they face more challenges today than arguably ever before. Become a ProPublica donor if you can, support the Post, support the Times, the Journal, whatever you want.

Thanks to those that supported and placed their trust in me over this past decade. Onto the next adventure.

I have other thoughts on my time in journalism and what it’s meant to me, which maybe I’ll write about sometime in the future. Some of my final/recent reporting will hopefully assist with upcoming stories in 2026 by my impressive colleagues.

The people I worked with closely over the last year are among the best I have seen in journalism – folks like @AASchapiro @WilliamTurton @HannahAllam @AndyKroll @mtredden and others. If you’ve gotten this far, my one request is support them and other investigative reporting efforts where you can.

propublica.orgFBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior StaffAs the FBI’s deputy director, Bongino receives some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, including the President’s Daily Brief. His ascent to that position without passing a standard bureau…

And to close the year, for the last several months, I was deeply focused on how the FBI was being reshaped under its new and unconventional director, Kash Patel. That’s where we found that Patel was writing waivers for his top staff to not have to pass polygraphs. www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

Like with many jobs, the vast majority of the work we do isn’t visible. I tried to break a bunch of different stories and I failed to deliver on most of them because I didn’t reach my own high bar for the necessary sourcing or clarity of information needed to publish.

propublica.orgDOGE Targeted Him on Social Media. Then the Taliban Took His Family.Afghan scholar Mohammad Halimi, who fled the Taliban in 2021, had worked to help U.S. diplomats understand his homeland. Then DOGE put his family’s lives at risk by exposing his sensitive work for a…

Then we dug into the story of one under-covered office: USIP. We discovered how DOGE had blown up a sensitive mission in Afghanistan – not realizing the initiative was meant to be kept secret – resulting in the family of a US ally being kidnapped by the Taliban www.propublica.org/article/doge...

propublica.orgThe IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICEProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security in order to speed up the agency’s mass deportation efforts.

After that, we explored how civilian agencies were breaking norms and sharing their own data on taxpayers with DHS to empower deportation raids. For example, we discovered how the IRS was building a system in secret to automate the mass sharing of records: www.propublica.org/article/trum...

So, with the support of colleagues, I tried to dig into what seemed important. I wish I could have done more, but I am proud of the work we did together. From early in 2025, several of us recognized the importance of DOGE and its consequences.

propublica.orgDOGE Archives43 stories published since 2024

For the first part of last year, I covered closely how this confusing entity reshaped the federal workforce often through a misunderstanding of what it was or how it functioned. www.propublica.org/topics/depar...

I came here from Reuters, having spent the last 7 years focused on cybersecurity, intelligence and foreign affairs. But from the start of 2025, with a new administration taking power and wielding government influence in an unprecedented manner, I became more of a generalist.

This was a decision I made for myself that felt like the right call. The idea of covering the latest scattered spider intrusion in February or a new Russian APT’s breach of the state department during the summer just didn’t seem like the best use of my time.

cnn.comLive updates: Trump keeping Machado’s Nobel prize after Venezuelan opposition leader presents it to him | CNN PoliticsVenezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, met with President Donald Trump today. Follow for live updates.

22 Jan

www.nytimes.com/interactive/... impressively reported and deeply embarrassing

Chris Bing reposted

Sean Lyngaas

@snlyngaas.bsky.social

16 Jan

Sources: US officials are telling multiple agencies, including FBI, to pull pple from attending the RSA conference after Jen Easterly, who led CISA under Biden, was named RSAC CEO: www.cnn.com/politics/liv...

7 Jan

sharing a theory I am researching below 1.) claims of cyber-related effect in Venezuela darkreading.com/cybersecurit... 2.) potential BGP anomaly event fits timeframe x.com/blackorbird/... 3.) leaked snowden doc suggests possible relevant tooling blog.fox-it.com/2015/04/20/d...

9 Dec 2025

FBI Director Kash Patel earlier this year fired a group of FBI employees who had knelt during a confrontation with DC protestors during the George Floyd protests of 2020. Seems he unknowingly fired someone who was actively working the Charlie Kirk case (per new lawsuit)

9 Dec 2025

An article that perhaps got lost in the shuffle - on record interviews with senior Dutch intelligence officials where they lament the firing of fmr NSA director Tim Haugh and reveal they are being more careful sharing intel with US partners volkskrant.nl/binnenland/n...

Chris Bing reposted

ProPublica

@propublica.org

17 Nov 2025

As the FBI’s deputy director, Bongino receives some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, including the President’s Daily Brief. His ascent to that position without passing a standard bureau background check is unprecedented, insiders say. By @williamturton.bsky.social @chrisbing.bsky.social

Chris Bing reposted

Josh Kaplan

@josh-kaplan.bsky.social

Replying to @josh-kaplan.bsky.social

We’re still reporting on Kristi Noem, contracts at DHS, and the ad deal. If you have any information we should know, my email is joshua.kaplan@propublica.org and I’m on the encrypted messaging app Signal (you can message me at js_kaplan.85)

Chris Bing reposted

ProPublica

@propublica.org

@williamturton.bsky.social

NEW: FBI Director Kash Patel granted waivers to Deputy Director Dan Bongino and two newly hired senior FBI staff, exempting them from polygraph exams normally required to gain access to America’s most sensitive classified information, officials said.

Chris Bing reposted

William Turton

@charlesornstein.bsky.social

New: FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

Chris Bing reposted

Charles Ornstein

@themorrancave.bsky.social

As the FBI’s deputy director, Dan Bongino receives some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, including the President’s Daily Brief. His ascent to that position without passing a standard bureau background check is unprecedented, insiders say. @williamturton.bsky.social @chrisbing.bsky.social

Chris Bing reposted

Chris Morran