J. David McSwane
Contributor
J. David McSwane is a reporter in ProPublica’s D.C. office covering healthcare, energy, federal contracts, and land issues.
NEWS
How A Lobbyist-Created Obamacare Loophole Enabled A Multibillion-Dollar Christian Health Care Cash Grab
Capitalizing on the pressure to pass the Affordable Care Act, a conservative lobbyist created an exception for faith-based health coverage, opening the door for “bad actors.”
03.10.23 | 8:00 am
NEWS
Documents Show Trump Officials Skirted Rules To Reward Politically Connected And Untested Firms With Huge Pandemic Contracts
House Democrats investigating the COVID-19 response say Trump adviser Peter Navarro pressured agencies to award deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
03.31.21 | 2:33 pm
NEWS
‘This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed’: Family Of Officer Who Died Defending Capitol Waits For Answers.
Brian David Sicknick, 42, died of injuries sustained while trying to protect the Capitol. Family members say they don’t want his death politicized. But they do want to understand what happened.
01.08.21 | 5:07 pm
NEWS
Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.
Insurrectionists made no effort to hide their intentions, but law enforcement protecting Congress was caught flat-footed.
01.07.21 | 9:47 am
NEWS
Cannabis, Lies and Foreign Cash: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through the Underground Mask Trade
Contracts, emails and spreadsheets that Juanita and Dawn Ramos shared with ProPublica detail how domestic and foreign investors, many with marijauna industry ties, seized upon the nation’s public health disaster.
08.03.20 | 10:03 am
NEWS
One Federal Agency Was Suing Him for Fraud. Another Paid His Company Millions for Masks.
Court records show the federal government gave $20 million in contracts to a company partly controlled by a man with a history of shady business practices.
07.09.20 | 8:55 am
NEWS
He Removed Labels That Said ‘Medical Use Prohibited,’ Then Tried To Sell Thousands Of Masks To Officials Who Distribute To Hospitals
Using TaskRabbit and Venmo, a Silicon Valley investor and his business partner had workers repackage non-medical KN95 masks so he could sell them to Texas emergency workers.
06.25.20 | 11:51 am
NEWS
The Trump Administration Paid Millions for Test Tubes — and Got Unusable Mini Soda Bottles
The plastic tubes supplied for coronavirus testing by Fillakit, a first-time federal contractor with a sketchy owner, don’t even fit the racks used to analyze samples. And they may be contaminated anyway.
06.18.20 | 12:10 pm