Jason Leopold

Happy 60th birthday to the #FOIA, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on this day in 1966!

Subscribe to FOIA Files! It's FREE!
bloomberg.com/foiafiles

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! The FBI Files Behind ‘The Real Wolf of Wall Street’

1000s of FBI docs I obtained via #FOIA tell the story of the investigation into Jordan Belfort & Stratton Oakmont, which inspired the new docuseries I exec produced & appear in
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Documenting DOGE’s work across the executive branch through the #FOIA will take years. Not deterred, I submitted FOIA requests for a wide range of records, fully expecting a long wait. Some of my requests have are now beginning to chip away at some of the secrecy.

Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! Internal SEC Emails Reveal Growing Concern Over DOGE’s Reach The emails I obtained provide a peek behind the scenes as DOGE entered the SEC last year and sparked fears among employees about the group’s access to data www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

🔎📄 I'm honored to be one of the judges for the @freedom.press Foundation's inaugural Penlight Prize for excellence in paywall-free public records reporting. There is a $25,000 cash prize! Submit your entries! Deadline is Sept 1. #FOIA

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press

📢 Are you a journalist who uses FOIA or other public records laws in your reporting? You could win $25K with our new journalism award, the Penlight Prize. Submission deadline: Sept. 1, 2026 Read more and apply today:

New $25K ‘Penlight’ journalism award honors paywall-free FOIA reporting

The Penlight Prize celebrates paywall-free reporting based on records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act or state public records laws.

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! The Memo That Killed the Penny

Previously undisclosed documents obtained by FOIA Files reveal how the Trump administration found a way to halt penny production and why officials considered the decision “critical.”

www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

The Memo That Killed the Penny

Previously undisclosed documents obtained by FOIA Files reveal how the Trump administration found a way to halt penny production and why officials considered the decision “critical.”

BIG EXCLUSIVE by my @bloomberg.com colleague Olivia Carville:

At 17, She Sued Meta & Google, and Won. Now She’s Ready to Tell Her Story

Kaley Glenn-Mills’ lawsuit reshaped the fight to protect children from social media. She says she still can’t stop scrolling
🎁 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

At 17, She Sued Meta and Google, and Won. Now She’s Ready to Tell Her Story

Kaley Glenn-Mills’ lawsuit reshaped the fight to protect children from social media. She says she still can’t stop scrolling.

EXCLUSIVE from Anthony Cormier & team at @bloomberg.com: How Tether Benefited as Trump Insiders Howard Lutnick and Bo Hines Shaped First US Crypto Law

🎁 www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

How Tether Benefited as Trump Insiders Shaped First US Crypto Law

When he was Tether’s banker, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ‘managed to kill’ less favorable legislation, a court filing says. And a White House aide pushed a measure Tether wanted, observers sa...

NEW #FOIA artwork, courtesy of DHS

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

At a time when crypto, prediction markets, and efforts to roll back financial regulation are radically reshaping the investment landscape, the docuseries serves as a reminder that history has a way of repeating itself.

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

Another interesting email that appears to be previously unreported was sent to Danae Serrano, the SEC’s ethics lawyer, on March 28, 2025 by an employee who asked whether DOGE was granted “unfettered access to our confidential financial data.”

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

The first email that caught my eye is one dated Feb. 23, 2025 to SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda and commissioners Hester Peirce and Caroline Crenshaw. A person who said they worked for the agency sent an anonymous email from a Proton Mail account, which allows users to send encrypted communications.

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

Check out this week's FOIA Files and the full set of documents I obtained via #FOIA after a yearlong battle at this link and PLEASE SUBSCRIBE! I'm constantly fighting for the release of records!
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Internal SEC Emails Reveal Growing Concern Over DOGE’s Reach

The communications provide a peek behind the scenes as DOGE entered the agency last year and sparked fears among employees about the group’s access to data.

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

How did the Trump admin get around Congress to kill the penny? It’s spelled out in a previously undisclosed “action memorandum” sent on March 7, 2025 to Scott Bessent from Ventris Gibson, the then-director of the US Mint

Read the docs and data at @bloomberg.com!

www.bloomberg.com/account/news...

FOIA Files

Come behind the scenes as Bloomberg's FOIA expert uncovers interesting documents never seen before.

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

Although The Real Wolf of Wall Street centers on a period when boiler rooms, penny stock fraud, and Wall Street excess dominated the headlines, its underlying themes feel remarkably current.

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

Among Trump’s advisers, Lutnick and Hines played the most formative roles in a legislative process that ultimately included measures favorable to Tether, according to people familiar with the discussions

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

Other emails describe the SEC’s Reduction in Force plans and a March 28, 2025 staffwide email sent to personnel advising them how to treat DOGE’s requests for data.

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

About a month later, Peter Gimbrere, the SEC’s managing executive who worked in the Office of the Chairman, sent an email to Eliezer Mishory, the head of the DOGE team at the agency. Mishory left his job as chief regulatory officer and general counsel at Kalshi to work for DOGE

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

In the months before and after Trump took office, his advisers Howard Lutnick and Bo Hines worked behind the scenes to loosen those safeguards and shape the law in ways that benefited the world’s dominant stablecoin issuer, Tether.

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

About a month later, Peter Gimbrere, the SEC’s managing executive who worked in the Office of the Chairman, sent an email to Eliezer Mishory, the head of the DOGE team at the agency. Mishory left his job as chief regulatory officer and general counsel at Kalshi to work for DOGE

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

Please sign up for a free subscription and check out this week's FOIA Files at @bloomberg.com. And watch "The Real Wolf of Wall Street!"

www.bloomberg.com/foiafiles

FOIA Files

Come behind the scenes as Bloomberg's FOIA expert uncovers interesting documents never seen before.

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

This account of how the legislation took shape shows the previously unreported steps that first Lutnick, then Hines took that benefited Tether. Both Hines & Lutnick have rec'd significant benefits from the company.

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

When he was Tether’s banker, Lutnick ‘managed to kill’ less favorable legislation, a court filing says. And a White House aide pushed a measure Tether wanted, observers say, then went to work for the company.

Reply to @jasonleopold.bsky.social

And if you like reading/learning about what the government is up to via exclusive documents I obtain through the #FOIA then please SUBSCRIBE to FOIA Files!