Mike Spies
The Trace
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Michael:
We Asked Every Republican in a Tight Race Whether They'd Denounce Alex Jones
Here's what they said. → Read More
Susan LaPierre Hosted Galas That Had Nothing to Do With Gun Rights. The NRA Covered Entertainment Costs.
The NRA CEO's wife threw star-studded fundraising events for Youth for Tomorrow, a Christian charity whose board she led. Invoices obtained by The Trace show the gun group paid tens of thousands of dollars in production fees, an arrangement that an expert described as "theft." → Read More
Trump Campaign Officials Started Pressuring Georgia’s Secretary of State Long Before the Election —
The Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, rejected repeated demands to endorse Trump. As the official overseeing the voting, he believed he should remain neutral. → Read More
Top FEC Official’s Undisclosed Ties to Trump Raise Concerns Over Agency Neutrality —
A top Federal Election Commission official, whose division regulates campaign cash, has shown support for President Trump and has close ties to his 2016 campaign attorney, Don McGahn. Experts said the actions raise questions about impartiality. → Read More
Ohio Official Sharply Limited Secure Ballot Boxes After Consulting ‘Voter Fraud Expert'
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose secretly contacted the Heritage Foundation's Hans von Spakovsky, a leading advocate for the discredited argument that American elections are tainted by widespread voting fraud. → Read More
Insiders Cashing In At Questionable Trump-Linked College Outfit
Behind the scenes, Turning Point USA has entered into questionable financial arrangements. Charlie Kirk's mentor, William Montgomery, the lesser-known co-founder who is credited with discovering Kirk. is one of three Turning Point insiders who have won lucrative deals from the group. → Read More
Insiders Cashing In At Questionable Trump-Linked College Outfit
Behind the scenes, Turning Point USA has entered into questionable financial arrangements. Charlie Kirk's mentor, William Montgomery, the lesser-known co-founder who is credited with discovering Kirk. is one of three Turning Point insiders who have won lucrative deals from the group. → Read More
At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In —
Charlie Kirk’s nonprofit Turning Point USA has made misleading financial claims and gets its “independent” audits from its co-founder Bill Montgomery’s former business associate. It has enriched several of its top leaders as it pushes Trump’s message. → Read More
Trump Friends and Family Cleared for Millions in Small Business Bailout —
Beneficiaries of the PPP included a lettuce farming venture backed by Trump’s son, Kushner companies, and a dentist who golfs with the president. The figures were released after a lawsuit by several news organizations, including ProPublica. → Read More
Republican National Committee Obscured How Much It Pays Its Chief of Staff —
Amid the record-breaking flows of cash, the RNC is giving lucrative consulting work to a select group of political operatives with Trump campaign ties. → Read More
The NRA Shielded a Top Executive Accused of Sexual Harassment
Marketing firm Ackerman McQueen said it would “not tolerate” further contact between NRA Chief of Staff Josh Powell and its employees — and that the gun group's reaction drove their professional split. → Read More
The NRA Used Funds to Settle a Sexual Harassment Claim Against a Top Official — And Then He Was Accused Again —
A top vendor complained it would “not tolerate” further contact between the official and its employees. → Read More
Document Shows NRA Money Helped Its Chief Search for a Personal Mansion —
The gun group’s lawyer said “not a cent” of the nonprofit’s money was spent on helping executive Wayne LaPierre’s mansion search. A document we obtained shows that payments were flagged by internal accountants for doing just that. → Read More
Internal NRA Memos Reveal Hidden Payments to Enrich Top Executives
Years of self-dealing at the National Rifle Association are threatening the group’s very existence. → Read More
Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the NRA
The organization’s leadership is focused on external threats, but the real crisis is of its own making. → Read More
NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre Targeted in Congressional Inquiry
Lawmakers demand documents after The Trace’s reporting shows NRA’s use of shell companies to support Trump, Senate campaigns. → Read More
Documents Show NRA Coordinated Ads with GOP Campaigns in Key Senate Races
The same media consultant purchased ads for the NRA and for Senate candidates in the Missouri, Montana, and North Carolina races. → Read More
Documents Point to Illegal Campaign Coordination Between Trump and NRA
Trump and the gun group used the same consultants to spearhead their TV ad blitzes at the height of the 2016 election, likely in violation of federal law. → Read More
Senators Call for Investigation Into NRA's Campaign Shell Game
Following reporting by The Trace, nine senators accuse the NRA of skirting rules against coordinating with political campaigns. → Read More
A Top NRA Executive's Trail of Business Flops and Unpaid Debt
As the gun group confronts serious financial straits, it has entrusted its operations to Josh Powell, a failed mail-order mogul who attracted a mountain of lawsuits in his former career. → Read More