Investigative reporter for The Washington Post. #1 NYT Bestselling author of "FAT LEONARD" (2024) and "THE AFGHANISTAN PAPERS" (2021).

Joined December 2012
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⬇️A wild slideshow of Fat Leonard photos that the US Navy tried to keep hidden 📽️
"Fat Leonard" by @craigmwhitlock is the full, sometimes stranger-than-fiction story of a world-class con man who blackmailed and bamboozled the US Navy for years. More: simonandschuster.com/books/F…
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US claims it is not responsible for strikes on Ecuadorian fishing boats – so who is? @JGedeon1 and I looked into an expanding military campaign that spans the eastern Pacific and has left 8 men missing and dozens detained with charge. theguardian.com/world/2026/j…
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Lots of airstrikes in CENTCOM over recent years. Can’t remember seeing official press releases essentially declaring “okay we’re done now”
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Trump saw about a dozen medical specialists for his past check-ups as president, his doctors said. This year? 22 specialists — appearing to set a new bar. The White House said they're just being thorough. Outside doctors have questions. w/ @iarnsdorf washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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'The cat door in the Karaağalar Quarters of the Harem at Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace, originally built during the Ottoman period to allow palace cats to move freely, has been fully restored.' dailysabah.com/turkiye/istan…
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The Taliban commander who abducted @RohdeD is sentenced to 42 years in prison after pleading guilty to hostage taking and providing material support for terrorism. @ColinRMoynihan nytimes.com/2026/06/09/nyreg…
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Drone shoots down helicopter. Another drone rescues the crew.
AH-64 Apache Shot Down By Iran, U.S. Will Retaliate: Trump The AH-64 crashed into the Gulf of Oman and its crew was rescued by a drone boat, and now Trump says it was due to enemy action. twz.com/news-features/ah-64-…
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Jun 8
Former Trump administration adviser and intelligence official Amaryllis Fox Kennedy previously helped her father secure at least $12M from a Russian investment bank that cooperated with the Kremlin, leaked documents show. Read the story: bit.ly/4utPimF
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New: The Washington Post reconstructed journalist Amal Khalil’s final hours in Lebanon found that Israel’s military denied rescuers access to her during a key period when she was still alive. w/ @suzanHaidamous, @mmkelly22, and @MohamdEch washingtonpost.com/business/…
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Medical records, call logs, satellite & ground images, along w/ 17 interviews w/ survivors, witnesses, first responders & military officials found that rescuers were denied access to Amal Khalil during a crucial period when she was still alive Our report: washingtonpost.com/business/…
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Incredible details - just read the whole story
SCOOP with @nakashimae and @kemettler: CIA officer created a fake SAP - Special Access Program - that resulted in gold trove, people familiar with the investigation say washingtonpost.com/national-…
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Craig Whitlock retweeted
NPR was there as well with LTC Chris Cabaniss and 2/8 Marines. Producer Graham Smith and photographer David Gilkey went with them into the Helmand River Valley. David was killed in Helmand 10 years ago this Friday still doing the job and following US troops on the front lines.
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Factual thoughts….@ScottPelley and @mhenryschuster were embedded with my Marine infantry unit in 2009—it was incredibly violent in Helmand. They told our story well. Years later, my unit suffered multiple suicides, they came back to cover that too. I wrote him when I was hired.
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A lawyer for news organizations sent the judge a letter asking his reasons for sealing Mangione’s hearing. He was ignored by the judge and rebuffed by his clerk, who said: “We don’t read emails or letters at night. We go home.” She then hung up on him. apnews.com/article/mangione-…
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Twitter produced at least 32 DMs containing "confidential communications" in response to a warrant sought by special counsel Jack Smith's January 6th investigation, but the Trump Presidential Library claims it cannot not find them.
Trump library says no Twitter DMs can be found, despite evidence he sent them @FOIANate washingtonpost.com/investiga…
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NEWS: A federal judge has blocked NOTUS from rebranding tomorrow as "The Star," granting a temporary restraining order at the request of its rival, The Washington Star
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Historic transparency would be an aggressive push to fund and fully staff the long-dysfunctional Defense Department FOIA offices. When should we expect that?x.com/JoelValdezDOW/status/2…

This is the most transparent War Department in history. No amount of spin from the Fake News media will change that. The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility. These speechwriters routinely handle classified material and require SIPRNet access. As a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. There’s nothing controversial about that. Access to the office of the Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs @SeanParnellASW and to the Press Secretary remains available by appointment only.
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Makes about as much sense as making the visitors center off limits to visitors
Pentagon designates press office as off-limits to journalists thehill.com/policy/defense/5…
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