Uncovering how Washington really works
Over his 18-year career as an investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Brody has earned a reputation as one of the most tenacious muckrakers in journalism. He got his start covering the opaque—yet surprisingly sordid—world of corporate lobbying and campaign finance. In recent years, his sights have been fixed on the increasingly elaborate schemes of businesses and D.C. power brokers to control America’s democracy.
He’s uncovered the sordid tale of big tech's secret weapon in Washington; lawmakers who invest in companies they oversee; found that some high-ranking staff were compensated by corporations they regulate; and illustrated how hedge funds hire Beltway insiders to mine the government for market-moving information they use to score huge trading profits on Wall Street. His reporting on Wall Street and Washington prompted the enactment of the STOCK Act, which prohibits U.S. lawmakers from investing in stocks based on inside information.
He has a particular knack for connecting the dots between colorful personalities and the systems of corruption they create or operate. His exposé of millionaire lobbyist and art collector Tony Podesta helped hasten the downfall of the one-time “King of K Street.” When Brody covered the U.S. Chamber of Commerce president’s extravagant use of private jets for personal vacations, it led to the Chamber swiftly replacing him as president.
Brody’s work has earned him the 2011 George Polk Award for special achievement in journalism, as well as the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress in 2010 and 2006.
More recently, Brody was awarded the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting for unveiling the financial conflicts of interest that led officials at 50 federal agencies to betray the public’s trust and profit from industries they were supposed to be regulating.
A selection of his past work can be found below:
-
The Hidden Life of Google’s Secret Weapon
Joshua Wright cleared a path to domination for the world’s biggest tech companies, keeping regulators at bay while juggling inappropriate relationships and skirting conflict-of-interest standards at every turn.
-
Big Tech Has a New Favorite Lobbyist: You
Millions of ordinary Americans have become unwitting foot soldiers in political influence campaigns by companies like Google and TikTok.
-
How Republicans and Big Business Broke Up
Republican lawmakers, accusing CEOs of skewing left, have become less dependent on corporate PAC money than at any time in the past three decades.
-
The Regulators of Facebook, Google and Amazon Also Invest in the Companies’ Stocks
The Federal Trade Commission’s officials traded stocks and funds more than those at any other major agency, including going heavily into tech shares, The Wall Street Journal found.
-
How Amazon Became One of Washington’s Most Powerful Players
The company has built a huge presence in the nation’s capital, with an army of lobbyists and a growing list of government contracts.
-
How the FDA Approved a $300,000-a-Year Drug Its Own Experts Didn’t Believe Worked
After trial data for a new medicine proved inconclusive, Sarepta Therapeutics joined with the parents of sick boys to persuade officials it helped.