I write about the intersection of politics and federal and congressional investigations like the ones into Donald J. Trump and Hunter Biden. My stories typically focus on revealing new details about those investigations or explaining them to readers. I frequently appear on The Times’s podcast “The Daily” to discuss my reporting.
I’ve been a Times reporter covering Washington since 2012. My work has included the F.B.I., the Mueller investigation, the two Trump impeachments and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. In 2018, I won two Pulitzer Prizes — one as part of a team that covered the investigations of President Trump, and the other, also shared with a group of colleagues, for stories that revealed a series of sexual harassment settlements that led to Bill O’Reilly’s ouster at Fox News.
I began my career at The Times in 2005 as a clerk on the International desk, where I answered calls from reporters in the field. Two years later, I became an investigative sports reporter, covering doping. I spent 2011 in Baghdad, chronicling the American withdrawal.
In 2020, I wrote the New York Times best-selling book “Donald Trump v. the United States.” I’m an MSNBC contributor and an executive producer and co-creator of the Netflix show “Zero Day,” starring Robert De Niro.
All Times journalists are committed to upholding the standards of integrity outlined in our Ethical Journalism Handbook. I believe that if citizens are going to make the right decisions about how to tackle society’s problems and empower the best leaders, they need to have the most accurate and comprehensive picture of the world around them. In the hopes of capturing that picture, I have dedicated my career to following the facts, without fear or favor. While many journalists do vote, I have chosen since 2012 to not vote in any elections as a way of building a barrier between myself and the partisan winds of our times.
In 2023, our publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, wrote an essay on the independent journalism we try to practice at The Times that I believe robustly captures our mission in great detail.
Please email me with your thoughts about our coverage, your observations of the world, tips or stories that you think we should be covering.
Email: schmidtm@nytimes.com
X: @nytmike
LinkedIn: Michael S. Schmidt
Anonymous tips: nytimes.com/tips
Concerns are growing that the body whose job is keeping sports free of illegal drugs is failing at that mission, leading Congress to question U.S. support.
By Michael S. Schmidt, Jenny Vrentas and Tariq Panja
The decision to review the handling of positive tests collected from 23 swimmers came after an outcry from athletes and antidoping regulators.
By Michael S. Schmidt and Tariq Panja
The administration’s top drug official, Rahul Gupta, said he would bring up the handling of Chinese swimmers’ positive tests at a meeting of sports officials this week.
By Michael S. Schmidt and Tariq Panja
An American who won silver in Tokyo calls for an investigation. A British gold medalist demands bans. But the most bitter fight was between antidoping leaders.
By Jenny Vrentas, Tariq Panja and Michael S. Schmidt
A doping case involving Olympic swimmers has left unanswered questions and raised new concerns about the actions of a global antidoping regulator.
By Tariq Panja and Michael S. Schmidt
Months before the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the same powerful banned substance. Michael Schmidt, an investigative reporter at The New York Times, explains.
By Michael S. Schmidt and Claire Hogan
The case, involving multiple swimmers who seven months later won medals at the 2021 Games, prompted accusations of a cover-up and concerns over why antidoping regulators chose not to intervene.
By Michael S. Schmidt and Tariq Panja
At times, baseball’s biggest star seemed in danger of being tainted by a gambling scandal, before his longtime interpreter was charged with fraud.
By Tim Arango and Michael S. Schmidt
The interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was charged with bank fraud, after prosecutors said he stole money to pay his gambling debts.
By Tim Arango and Michael S. Schmidt
Ippei Mizuhara stands accused of covering his gambling debts by stealing millions of dollars from Shohei Ohtani’s bank account.
By Tim Arango and Michael S. Schmidt