by Robert McGreevy, The Daily Caller:
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a foreign news organization instrumental in the first impeachment of President-elect Donald Trump, is primarily funded by the U.S. State Department, according to an investigation by Drop Site News.
OCCRP’s reporting on Rudy Giuliani’s business activities in Ukraine was cited four times in the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s impeachment. The organization also collaborates with over 50 major media outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, Drop Site News reported
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
🚨Major investigation just dropped at @DropSiteNews in partnership with a consortium of independent European news outlets. A major player in global journalism is primarily bankrolled by the U.S. State Department, we can reveal. Story to follow in next post: pic.twitter.com/ZwN0nDen8E
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) December 2, 2024
U.S. taxpayers have funded 52% of OCCRP’s expenditures between 2013 and 2024, and at least $47 million since its founding in 2008, according to the outlet. The organization’s largest single financial backer is the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a State Department subsidiary.
OCCRP’s board defended its funding in a statement to Drop Site News, emphasizing previous transparency about its financial backers.
“We understand that reasonable people may believe that’s a bad idea, especially since it is not the norm in journalism in the United States (although government support of journalism is not uncommon in Europe and elsewhere). This was thoroughly discussed years ago when OCCRP was founded,” the board wrote.
“The Board at that time — which included several of us who remain on the Board and whose personal reputations as journalists and executives are impeccable — decided that it was worth the tradeoff for the investigative journalism OCCRP could produce with this financial support.”
While some reporters who OCCRP collaborated with were aware of the funding and unconcerned, others expressed discomfort with an investigative newsroom being primarily funded by a major world government.
