Thread by @Sludge

Our two-person newsroom worked hard in 2020 to publish hundreds of impactful stories on money in politics. Here's some of the work we're proud of.

First up, we scraped disclosures to create a comprehensive list of Congress' fossil fuel investments. readsludge.com/2020/01/03/mem…

We analyzed defense PAC money and found that the Democrats who oppose modest cuts to the Pentagon budget rely more heavily on defense industry cash for their campaigns. readsludge.com/2020/07/22/dem…

Speaking of defense cash, we put out a report on the members of Congress who own defense stocks, including in companies that get much of their revenue through congressional appropriations. readsludge.com/2020/01/13/the…

We reported on Joe Kennedy's stock holdings in ExxonMobil and Chevron since the day he said he might run against Green New Deal sponsor Ed Markey, and eventually the Kennedy family divested (mostly) from fossil fuels. readsludge.com/2020/07/17/fol…

We also found that JKIII violated the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge he signed by taking a maximum contributions from a well known fossil fuel lobbyist. Our reporting led to him refunding the money. readsludge.com/2020/08/06/ken…

These stories only exist because of reader support. We put out this work on a shoestring budget.

We're in the final week of the NewsMatch drive, and we are not yet at the goal. Please donate to Sludge now at $5-a-month, and your gift will be matched 12x:

readsludge.com/join

We profiled the corporate lobbyists and lawyers who hold top committee seats at the DNC—many of them appointed members, not elected by states, who act as gatekeepers for party reforms. This committee roster information was not public before our reporting.

readsludge.com/2020/02/24/top…

We reported that the majority of the DNC Budget and Finance Committee were appointed by Tom Perez. They include prominent pipeline lobbyist Tonio Burgos, a finance chair known as "king of the airport lobbyists," and investment execs with fossil fuel ties.

readsludge.com/2020/03/26/tom…

We got the behind-the-scenes story from delegates to this summer's virtual Democratic National Convention about how corporate lobbyists kneecapped a grassroots proposal to permanently bar corporate PAC donations and ban corporate lobbyists from the DNC.

readsludge.com/2020/08/05/cor…

As the RNC was suing states to stop vote-by-mail during the pandemic, we looked into some of the billionaires helping to finance the lawsuits. This report was covered on MSNBC. readsludge.com/2020/07/31/her…

Back when Trump couldn't stop talking about hydroxychloroquine, we broke the story of how a group funded by Trump megadonor Bernie Marcus had been promoting the drug to him. readsludge.com/2020/04/06/pha…

In addition to our investigative stories, we made sure to cover grassroots activists working to advance solutions to the undue influence of Big Money in politics. For example, a campaign to overturn Citizens United racking up wins in Wisconsin. readsludge.com/2020/04/24/cam…

... and activists in states like Maryland working to pass a voluntary public campaign financing program for elections.

readsludge.com/2020/10/15/bal…

We fact-checked how not all super PACs are the same—there are Big Money groups funded by wealthy megadonors and corporations, and grassroots groups funded by small donations from working people.

readsludge.com/2020/02/10/fac…

We published an analysis of 473 city budgets showing that poorer cities spend a higher share of their general fund on police departments, even where crime is lower. This visualized the largest and most current dataset of municipal budgets nationwide.

readsludge.com/2020/06/26/poo…

We spoke with the #NoMoreCopMoney volunteer project about the thousands of state and local politicians who have taken nearly $20 million from law enforcement PACs since 2015 while police budgets have steadily increased. The top 50 are mostly in CA and NY.

readsludge.com/2020/06/24/law…

We dug up past versions of police foundation websites to report the corporate partners and board members whose names had been scrubbed as protests grew against police militarization. Some vanished corporate donors included Bloomberg, Chase, Goldman Sachs.

readsludge.com/2020/06/30/pol…

Our non-profit newsroom is in the #NewsMatch drive, and heading into the last week, we are not yet at the goal.

Readers who give $5-a-month directly enable us to put out this investigative reporting. New monthly donations to Sludge will be matched 12x:

readsludge.com/join

Earlier this year, we exposed the members of Congress who introduced legislation—which became law—that directly benefited their private companies.

This was the first look into the nearly 100 House members who hold positions with 326 private companies.

readsludge.com/2020/07/08/exp…

We documented how a Democratic superlawyer being hailed as a democracy hero worked for years to empower Big Money in politics.

readsludge.com/2020/11/25/law…

We released the first-ever public spreadsheet of the private companies and other organizations affiliated with members of Congress.

By putting this info online, reporters can more easily look into the lawmakers whose companies benefited from PPP funding.

readsludge.com/2020/12/24/mem…

We're working hard to follow the money in the months ahead, but we need to reach the @NewsMatch goal before the drive ends on Dec. 31.

We're a two-person team and we do all our own fundraising asks to readers. Help us continue putting out these stories.

readsludge.com/join