Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- August 22, 2023
- Targets
- Mick Dumke (ProPublica)
- Legal Orders
-
-
subpoena
for
communications or work product
- Aug. 22, 2023: Pending
- Oct. 6, 2023: Unknown
-
subpoena
for
communications or work product
- Legal Order Target
- Journalist
- Legal Order Venue
- Federal
Subpoena/Legal Order
Outcome unknown for ‘sprawling’ subpoenas to ProPublica and its reporters
It remains unclear if ProPublica complied with a 2023 subpoena from hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin for documents in his federal lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. The nonprofit newsroom declined to comment when asked in March 2025 whether it had complied with an Oct. 6, 2023, deadline. So the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is listing the status of the subpoena as of that date as “unknown.”
The outlet and five of its journalists were each subpoenaed in August 2023 in connection with Griffin’s suit. Griffin alleged that the IRS had failed to establish safeguards to protect his private data, citing ProPublica’s reporting on what it called a “vast cache” of tax documents.
The subpoenaed journalists, when contacted in March 2025, either did not respond or referred the Tracker to ProPublica.
In 2023, ProPublica told the Tracker that the “sprawling subpoenas” seemed intended to identify the outlet’s source for the documents.
A joint status report filed in the lawsuit on the October 2023 deadline for ProPublica’s production of documents does not mention the subpoenas. It notes, however, that the U.S. government had charged IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn a week earlier with disclosing tax return information without authorization.
Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison in January 2024. As of April 2025, he was appealing his conviction.
Griffin and the IRS jointly filed to dismiss Griffin’s suit in June 2024.
ProPublica and five of its journalists — including former reporter Mick Dumke — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.
A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “The Secret IRS Files,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.
“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”
ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.
A joint status report filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the journalists subpoenaed as Dumke, who left the outlet in December 2022; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; reporter Paul Kiel; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
