Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold remembers being struck by Donald Trump’s pledge to donate $6 million, including $1 million of his personal funds, to veterans groups during a televised fundraiser before the Iowa caucuses early last year, reports The Post, which added: “Did Trump follow through? he wondered. So, weeks after the event, Fahrenthold started asking questions.
“For several months, he found, the answer was no, despite assurances to the contrary from Trump’s campaign. When Trump finally made the donation in late May, the reporter set off on a broader inquiry. In a detailed series of articles, he found that many of Trump’s philanthropic claims over the years had been exaggerated and often were not truly charitable activities at all.
“On Monday, Fahrenthold’s investigative digging was rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize, journalism’s most prestigious award. His work documenting the future president’s charitable practices won the award for national reporting.
“Fahrenthold’s Pulitzer-winning package of stories also included his article disclosing that Trump had made crude comments and bragged about groping women during an unaired portion of an interview on “Access Hollywood” in 2005.
“The story, a result of an anonymous tip, proved to be one of the most consequential and widest-read in the history of campaign reporting; it led to calls for Trump to drop out of the race just weeks before Election Day. The article and accompanying video also prompted two apologies from Trump — who called his comments “locker-room banter” — and inspired some of the themes of worldwide women’s protest marches that drew millions the day after Trump was inaugurated in January.”
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