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 "congressional staffers" ...
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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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Power Trips: Congressional Staffers Share the Road
An investigation of public documents revealed that members of Congress and their staffs accepted "more that 23,000 all-expenses-paid trips worth almost $50 million from January 2000 through mid-2005." The investigation, which also included helping put together a database of documents detailing these congressional trips paid for by special interests, found "more than 90 trips sponsored by lobbyists and others paid for by registered foreign agents." There were also a series of trips taken to a $1,000 per night fishing lodge in Alaska, with then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert one of those who took such a trip. These were sponsored by a charity funded by oil and gas executives.
Tags: Lobbyists; extra benefits; politicians; free trips for politicians; free trips for congress; database of congressional trips
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Power Trips
Medill students partnered with American Public Media and the Center for Public Integrity to examine travel taken by members of Congress and their staffers paid for with private dollars, largely by lobbyists. They expanded the publicly available database to include travel by staffers and travel though June 30, 2006. Reporters from Medill NewsService wrote over 30 stories based on the data. All the stories are included here.
Tags: ethics; congressional staffers; lobbyists; Alabama; California-Imperial Valley; Colorado; Connecticut; Florida; Indiana; Iowa; Massachusetts; Missouri; Mississippi; North Carolina; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Platts, South Carolina; Barney Frank; Washington; IRE Student Entry
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Terror Watch
"In their weekly on-line web column, Investigative Correspondents Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball provided exclusive reporting on the US government's war on terror, repeatedly breaking major stories and shedding light on important trends making "Terror Watch" a must read for senior US intelligence officials, congressional staffers and other media organizations.
Tags: September 11; Al- Qaeda; Saudi; Saddam; Iraq; Afghanistan; war
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The Dirty Hill
A New Republic investigation reveals that congressmen often violate fund-raising rules. Many have solicited contributions from their offices in possible violation of a federal law, and others have found loopholes to reimburse aides and Congress staffers for helping with campaigns, the story finds. The Federal Election Commission - the formal mechanism to stop all that - has been practically disemboweled through rules and laws adopted by the Congress it is supposed to regulate. The article points out that, as of 1997, there were at least eight members of Congress who might have been party to breaking the law in their fund-raising efforts. "After they are properly investigated, maybe we can go after the ones who do it legally," the reporter concludes.
Tags: Federal Election Commission; Congressional Forum; Appropriations Committee; lobbying; lobbyists; corruption; advocacy; aides; freebies; donations; contributions