About: Lee Fang
Bio: Lee Fang is a reporter for The Intercept. He has a longstanding interest in how public policy is influenced by organized interest groups and money. He was the first to uncover and detail the role of the billionaire Koch brothers in financing the Tea Party movement. His interviews and research on the Koch brothers have been featured on HBO’s “The Newsroom,” the documentaries “Merchants of Doubt” and “Citizen Koch,” as well as in multiple media outlets. He was an investigative blogger for ThinkProgress (2009-2011) and then a fellow at the Investigative Fund of the Nation Institute and contributing writer for The Nation. In 2012, he co-founded RepublicReport.org, a blog to cover political corruption that syndicates content with TheNation.com, Salon, National Memo, BillMoyers.com, TruthOut, and other media outlets. His work has been published by VICE, The Baffler, The Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Progressive, NPR, In These Times, and The Huffington Post. His first book, “The Machine: A Field Guide to the Resurgent Right,” published by The New Press, explores how the conservative right rebuilt the Republican Party and its political clout in the aftermath of President Obama’s 2008 election victory. He is based in San Francisco.
Congressman Reyes, Leaning Heavily On Drone Industry For Family & Political Funds, Faces Democratic Challenger
As voters continue to rebuke status quo incumbents and corrupt politicians, yet another upset election could be on the horizon. Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Beto O’Rourke, a businessman and former member of the El Paso City Council. Reyes, a ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, is known for
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After Fighting The Taliban, Soldiers Return Home To Face Attacks From For-Profit Colleges & Their Lobbyists
After risking their lives abroad, American veterans are returning home to a new set of dangers. For-profit college companies are increasingly targeting veterans and their education benefits as a source for easy profits. The companies have a record of fraud, from deceptive recruiting practices to extremely high drop-out and default rates. Unlike tradition private or
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Senator Mark Warner, Leading Democratic Critic of Volcker Rule, Invests With J.P. Morgan Unit Likely Affected By Volcker Rule
In March, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) led members from both parties in introducing legislation to delay the implementation of the Volcker Rule, a new regulation to limit risky trading by big banks. He was joined by Pat Toomey (R-PA), one of the biggest proponents of financial deregulation in the Senate. The legislation may come back
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Charter School Lobby Group Quits ALEC Two Days After Being Identified By Republic Report
On Saturday, Republic Report’s Zaid Jilani reported that the National Association of Charter School Authorizers was one of the many covert members of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the controversial front group that helps lobbyists ghostwrite state law. As Jilani noted, NACSA is funded in large part by taxpayer dollars: NACSA is financed in part
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VIDEO: British CEO Who Owns American Lobbying And Advertising Firms Discusses How Citizens United Will Increase Profits
This morning Thomas Edsall has a piece in the New York Times exploring the “corporatization of K Street” by big lobbying conglomerates. Few have noticed, but multinational lobbying firms have bought up many of the largest names in lobbying over the past few years. One firm in particular, the London-based WPP Group, owns dozens of
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GRAPHIC: How The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Uses Its “Spooky PAC” To Funnel Corporate Cash Into Secret Attack Ads
As Stephen Colbert rightfully pointed out earlier this week, a 501(c) organizations — which he termed “Spooky PACs” — operate like Super PACs, except that they are completely secret organizations that do no reveal any of their donors. Like Super PACs, 501(c) groups can raise unlimited corporate and union donations, and can spend that cash
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Across France And Greece, Voters Revolt Against Corruption
Will 2012 be the year of voter revolt against corruption? As almost the entire world continues to struggle with a seemingly endless recession, the public has turned to government for answers. In nation after nation, public officials have been slow to respond, or in many cases, too close to the wealthy interests to provide meaningful
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Wall Street Doesn’t Think Michele Bachmann Is Fringe: Big Banks Like J.P. Morgan Support Her Bill To Repeal Financial Regulations
What do Jamie Dimon, chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Michele Bachmann, a conspiracy-obsessed representative from Minnesota, have in common? Both support H.R. 87, Bachmman’s legislation that would repeal all major Wall Stret reforms passed in the wake of the financial crisis. Though Bachmann has been cast as a fringe figure over
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