Member-only story
Matt Taibbi is Furious: USAID Gave Politico $8 Million For “Subscriptions”
“The Media is Busted,” Taibbi raged this week.
“Fed agencies ending $8M Politico contracts after Elon Musk calls them ‘wasteful’ use of taxpayer money,” reported Steven Nelson for the New York Post on February 5, 2025. “The White House said Wednesday that federal agencies are in the process of terminating expensive contracts with Politico after Elon Musk, leader of the Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting initiative, called them a ‘wasteful’ use of taxpayer money.’”
“About $8.4 million in taxpayer funds were obligated to Politico over the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2024, according to data on usaspending.gov,” Nelson added. “The current award amount is $8.2 million, according to the website.”
“USAID did not give millions of taxpayer dollars to Politico,” claimed the so-called “independent” fact-checking outlet, Politifact, in response. “The spending came from agencies across the federal government for subscriptions to Politico Pro, according to USA Spending, the database that tracks government grants and contracts.”
“Politico Pro is Politico’s news subscription service aimed primarily at businesses,” explained Politifact. “It provides news, analysis, and legislative tools for researchers, policymakers, and lobbyists, and…