Murray Waas

murraywaas@gmail.com | HuffPost Reporting From DC

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Murray Waas is a writer and an investigative reporter. Most recently, Waas has reported on national security affairs and law enforcement matters. He is currently a contributing editor of the National Journal and also contributes reporting for ABC News' investigative unit.

For the National Journal, he reported about the misue of prewar intelligence by then-President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to make the case to go to war (see here, here, and here), the criminal investigation relating to the disclosure of the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame(see here, here, and here) , and the firings of nine U.S. attorneys by the Bush administraion (see here, here, and here.)

Waas has been a winner of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School's Goldsmith Prize. He has also been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category of national reporting. And he has been a fellow with the Alicia Patterson Foundation.

New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen wrote about his work in April, 2006:

It should be obvious from the work who the Woodward of Now is.... The guy's name is Murray Waas; he's an independent journalist... [who} has been in the game since he was 18...

By Woodward Now I mean the reporter who is actually doing what Woodward has a reputation for doing: finding, tracking, breaking into reportable parts—and then publishing—the biggest story in town. He’s also putting those parts together for us.

Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz wrote about Waas the following month:

After a quarter-century in the journalistic shadows, Murray Waas is getting his day in the sun.

The freelance investigative reporter has racked up a series of scoops. He's been cited by New York Times columnists Frank Rich and Paul Krugman. And New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen calls him the new Bob Woodward.

But Waas -- whose blog is called Whatever, Already -- doesn't toot his own horn much and only reluctantly granted an interview. "My theory is, avoid the limelight, do what's important and leave your mark. . . . If my journalism has had impact, it has been because I have spent more time in county courthouses than greenrooms," he says.

More information about Waas can be found in this profile of him in U.S. News & World Report, and this commentary about his work in Nieman Reports.

Waas' journalism career began as teenage reporter for columnist Jack Anderson. In his twenties, he was an investigative correspondent for the Village Voice, where he wrote the cover story for the weekly newspaper more than a dozen times.

Murray Waas has also during his career written for the New Yorker, the Atlantic, (see here and here.) the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, ABC News, (see here, here, here, and here.)Salon.com, (see here, here, here, and here.) the American Prospect (see here, here, and here.), the Nation, the New Republic, Harper's, the Hill, the Arkansas Times,Talking Points Memo(see here and here.), and National Journal.

His work has been reviewed by the Online Journalism Review, the American Journalism Review, and the Columbia Journalism Review.

Most recenly, GQ Magazine named Waas as one of four of "The Best Reporters You Don't Know About," saying:

Years of groundbreaking watchdog journalism have resulted in this nickname: the new Bob Woodward. His pieces on the Plame leaks and U.S. attorney firings inadvertently provided candidates with more ammunition against the current administration than any campaign strategist could hope for."

Waas currently blogs on his personal website and resides in Washington D.C.
His former blog can be found here.

Collections of his articles from previous years can be found here,here, here, here,here, here,here, and at sourcewatch.org

In the spring of 2007, Waas was the co-editor with Jeff Lomonaco, of the United States v. I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby.

Lengthier biographies of Murray Waas can be found hereand here.

Murray Waas can be contacted through his Facebook account or at murraywaasATgmail.com. He can also be followed on twitter.

BIO

McCain Transition Chief Aided Saddam In Lobbying Effort

HuffingtonPost.com | Murray Waas | November 14, 2008

William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator...

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Former Aide Contradicts Huckabee Defense Of Rapist's Release

HuffingtonPost.com | Murray Waas | March 28, 2008

Directly contradicting Mike Huckabee's claims, his former senior aide tells the Huffington Post that, as governor of Arkansas, Huckabee indeed told the state's parole board...

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BIO

Documents Expose Huckabee's Role In Serial Rapist's Release

HuffingtonPost.com | Murray Waas | March 28, 2008

Little Rock, Ark -- As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee aggressively pushed for the early release of a convicted rapist despite being warned by numerous...