Jim Risen's secret history of The New York Times

James Risen today published a gripping, first-person account of his twin battles over the years with his editors on the one hand and the Bush and Obama administrations on the other. For the first time, he writes in depth about how editors buried or spiked his reporting that showed skepticism about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and recounts the way the Bush administration successfully pressured his editors to spike stories that could have dramatically changed the shape of our discourse around key national security issues. It's a story that doesn't end until 2015, as the Obama administration continued threatening him with jail if he wouldn't give up his sources. It's a landmark piece of journalism about journalism, but it's also about so much more. And it's unique in that it's a first-person account, but he goes back and interviews all the key players he interacted with along the way. When you have time, read it, but fair warning: it's very long. We're bringing it out as a book as well, though that's not quite ready. But when it is I'll be sure to spam you with it, don't worry. For your commute tomorrow morning, here's a fascinating hour-long interview he did with Jeremy Scahill for our podcast Intercepted. And what could wind up being one of the most important things you read this year -- that is, if you run a campaign, serve in Congress or are responsible for hiring at a progressive advocacy organization -- there is now a photo dossier of all of James O'Keefe's and Project Veritas' known associates. The undercover conservative group has increasingly been attempting to infiltrate Democratic campaigns, something it'll no doubt step up in 2018. If they get in and capture the right moment out of context -- or capture the wrong moment in context -- it could tilt the balance of power in the House or Senate. Here's our scoop on this new tracking project, undertaken by The Undercurrent's Lauren Windsor. Story by Aida Chavez. You're getting this email because you either signed up for it or you took a survey and opted in to this newsletter -- or, probably, you declined to opt out. Either way, I hope you're enjoying it. I'm the Washington bureau chief at The Intercept, and I send this several times a week. If you see an ad here, it's there because sending mass emails turns out to be really expensive. I'm not making any money off of it; it goes to the email service provider and just defrays the cost a bit. If you want to contribute directly to help keep the thing running, you can do so here, though be warned a donation comes with no tote bags or extra premium content or anything. Or you can buy a copy of Out of the Ooze: The Story of Dr. Tom Price, the first book put out by Strong Arm Press, a small progressive publishing house I cofounded. If somebody forwarded you this note, you can sign up to start getting your own copy here. Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Bad News, please click here.