Michael Isikoff | |
|---|---|
 Isikoff at theWhite House Correspondents' Dinner in 2019 | |
| Born | (1952-06-16)June 16, 1952 (age 73)[1] Syosset, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Washington University in St. Louis (BA) Northwestern University (MA) |
| Occupation | Investigative journalist |
| Spouse(s) | Lisa Stein (divorced)[2] |
| Children | 2 |
Michael Isikoff (born June 16, 1952) is an Americaninvestigative journalist who used to be the Chief Investigative Correspondent atYahoo! News. He is the co-author withDavid Corn of the book titledRussian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, published on March 13, 2018.[3]
From July 2010 to April 2014, Isikoff was the national investigative correspondent forNBC News.[4] He resigned from NBC, citing the network's move in a direction that left him with "fewer opportunities" for his work.[5] He had previously worked forNewsweek, which he joined as an investigative correspondent in June 1994, and wrote extensively on the U.S. government'swar on terror, theAbu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse,campaign finance and congressional ethics abuses, presidential politics and other national issues.
Isikoff had been prepared to break theClinton–Lewinsky scandal, but several hours before going to print, the article was killed by topNewsweek executives. As a result, the story broke first onMatt Drudge'sDrudge Report the following morning. Isikoff's book on the subject,Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter's Story, was named Best Non-Fiction Book of 1999 by theBook of the Month Club.
Isikoff was born to aJewish family,[6] the son of Gertrude "Trudy" (née Albert) and Morris Isikoff.[7] He was raised inSyosset, New York. He has one sister.[7]
Isikoff graduated fromSyosset High School onLong Island in 1970. He received his A.B. fromWashington University in St. Louis in 1974, with a junior year abroad at theUniversity of Durham, England, and obtained amaster's from theMedill School of Journalism[8] fromNorthwestern University in 1976.
While still in graduate school, Isikoff found work with theAlton Telegraph at a salary of $100 per week. In 1978 he was on staff with the Washington, D.C.–basedStates News Service, where he focused on Illinois-based stories.[8]
Isikoff was a part of theNewsweek team that won theOverseas Press Club's most prestigious award, the 2001 Ed Cunningham Memorial Award for best magazine reporting from abroad forNewsweek's coverage of the war on terror.[citation needed] Isikoff has also been a contributingblogger atHuffPost, and has appeared on theDemocracy Now! show.[9]
In the May 9, 2005, issue ofNewsweek, Isikoff co-wrote an article that stated that interrogators atGuantanamo Bay "in an attempt to rattle suspects, flushed aQuran down a toilet." Detainees had earlier made similar complaints, but this was the first time a government source had appeared to confirm the story. The article caused widespread rioting and massive anti-American protests throughout some parts of theIslamic world, resulting at least 17 deaths inAfghanistan. The magazine later retracted the story after noting that the anonymous official who was their source subsequently could not remember important details.[10] A subsequent June 4, 2005, report by the Pentagon, however, confirmed multiple instances ofdesecration of the Quran at Guantanamo, including one incident in which a guard's urine came through an air vent and splashed on a detainee and his Quran.[11]
Isikoff's online column with fellow journalistMark Hosenball, "Terror Watch," won the 2005 award from theSociety of Professional Journalists for best investigative reporting online.[citation needed]
Isikoff is the co-author, with journalistDavid Corn, ofHubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War, a 2006 book about the selling of the2003 invasion of Iraq to the U.S. public and the ensuingPlame affair. The book was aNew York Times best-seller.[12][13]
A September 23, 2016,Yahoo News article written by Isikoff[14] was cited by federal authorities in aFISA warrant application in order to justify the surveillance ofCarter Page, who was alleged to have a connection to Russian authorities during the2016 presidential campaign.[15][16] This article is also cited in theNunes memo.[17] Nunes claimed that Isikoff's article was wrongly used by the FBI as independent corroboration for the Steele Dossier, when in fact the dossier's author was the article's source. TheInspector General later confirmed that the FISA application "incorrectly assess[ed] that Steele did not directly provide information to Yahoo News."[18]
Isikoff was a creator of the 2017 short film64 Hours In October: How One Weekend Blew Up The Rules Of American Politics regarding events around October 7–9, 2016 relating to allegedRussian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[19]
In 2018, Isikoff claimed thatLinda Tripp offered to take the infamous blue dress (claimed to have been marked with Bill Clinton's semen as a result of a sexual encounter with Monica Lewinsky) from Lewinsky's closet and hand it over to him. Isikoff allegedly refused, saying he didn't want to take possession of stolen property and did not have access to President Bill Clinton's DNA to test the evidence on the dress anyway.[20]
In a 2021 investigative report forYahoo! News with colleagues, Isikoff uncovered a CIA plot to kidnapJulian Assange from theEcuadorian embassy in London, though the plan was reportedly never approved.[21][22]
In 2024, Isikoff's new book with co-author Daniel Klaidman was released. TitledFind Me the Votes, it centered on the efforts to challenge the2020 United States presidential election results in the state of Georgia.[23]
In January 2007, Isikoff married former Washington, D.C. political gossip columnistMary Ann Akers, who wrote "The Sleuth" forThe Washington Post.[24] They have a son, Zachary Akers Isikoff, born in 2009.[25][26] Isikoff was previously married to Lisa Stein, with whom he has a daughter, Willa Isikoff.[citation needed]
