Michael S. Schmidt

Michael Schmidt
Schmidt in 2018
Born1983 (age 40–41)
Nyack, New York, U.S.
EducationLafayette College (AB)
Occupation(s)Journalist, author
Spouse
​
(m. 2022)​
Children1

Michael S. Schmidt (born September 23, 1983) is an American journalist, author, and correspondent for The New York Times in Washington, D.C.[1] He is also a producer of a Netflix show. He covers national security and federal law enforcement, and has broken several high-profile stories about politics, media and sports.[2] He is also a national security contributor for MSNBC and NBC News.

Among the major stories he has broken was the existence of a private email server used by Hillary Clinton. During the Trump presidency, he broke several major stories including details of the Mueller investigation, investigations of Trump and Trump's efforts to overturn the election and Trump's attempts to weaponize the federal government against his enemies. He was widely criticized by Democrats and left wing commentators for his coverage of Clinton, which they claimed damaged her candidacy.

In 2018 Schmidt won two Pulitzer Prizes for his work in the previous year.[3] One of the Pulitzer Prizes was awarded for breaking the news that President Trump had asked the FBI director James Comey for a loyalty pledge and to close the federal investigation into Michael Flynn.[4] That story led the Justice Department to appoint Robert S. Mueller III as a special counsel to investigate President Trump.[5]

With another reporter at The New York Times, Schmidt won a Pulitzer Prize for a story about sexual harassment allegations against Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly that led to Fox firing O'Reilly.[6] He shared the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and the 2018 Gerald Loeb Award for Investigative business journalism for stories on the sexual predator allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein that led to the rise of the Me Too movement.[7][8] In 2023, he broke the story about the contents of text messages sent by Tucker Carlson that led to his ouster at Fox. [9]

In March 2023, Netflix announced that Schmidt was going to be an executive producer and co-creator of limited series starring Robert De Niro. The series, entitled "Zero Day," is being directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, who previously directed many episodes of "Homeland" and "Mad Men."[10]

In September 2020, Schmidt's first book, Donald Trump v. The United States: Inside the Struggle to Stop a President, was released by Penguin Random House.[11][12][13] The book received positive reviews and rose to number three on The New York Times Best Seller list and number two on both Amazon's and the Wall Street Journal 's best-seller lists.[14]

Earlier in Schmidt's career, he was a sports reporter and broke several major stories about doping in baseball including that Sammy Sosa,[15] David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.[16] In April 2024, he broke the story about how nearly half the Chinese swimming team tested positive for a banned drug before the 2021 Summer Olympics but were not sanctioned.[17]

  1. ^ Schmidt, Michael S. "Michael S. Schmidt – The New York Times". Topics.nytimes.com. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  2. ^ "Michael S. Schmidt | Educational Small Group Tour Travel | Times Journeys". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  3. ^ "The Washington Post wins 2 Pulitzer Prizes for reporting on Russian interference and the Senate race in Alabama". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ Schmidt, Michael S. (May 16, 2017). "Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  5. ^ Ruiz, Rebecca R.; Landler, Mark (May 17, 2017). "Robert Mueller, Former F.B.I. Director, Is Named Special Counsel for Russia Investigation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  6. ^ Steel, Emily; Schmidt, Michael S. (April 1, 2017). "Bill O'Reilly Thrives at Fox News, Even as Harassment Settlements Add Up". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  7. ^ "The New York Times, for reporting led by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, and The New Yorker, for reporting by Ronan Farrow". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  8. ^ "UCLA Anderson School of Management Announces 2018 Gerald Loeb Award Winners". PR Newswire. June 25, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  9. ^ Peters, Jeremy W.; Schmidt, Michael S.; Rutenberg, Jim (May 3, 2023). "Carlson's Text That Alarmed Fox Leaders: 'It's Not How White Men Fight'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  10. ^ "Netflix Announces New Limited Series 'Zero Day' Starring Robert De Niro". About Netflix. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "NYT reporter's new book makes explosive Russia, Mueller claims — that Times didn't report". Salon. August 31, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  12. ^ Palmer, Anna; Sherman, Jake. "POLITICO Playbook: Two sneak peeks from Michael Schmidt's new book". POLITICO. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  13. ^ Suri, Jeremi. "Review | White House insiders' failure to rein in Trump's tilt toward chaos and lawlessness". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  14. ^ "Bestselling Books Week Ended September 5". Wall Street Journal. September 10, 2020. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  15. ^ "Meet Michael Schmidt, the Young Times Writer Who Exposes Baseball's Worst". Observer. August 10, 2009. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  16. ^ Schmidt, Michael S. (July 30, 2009). "Ortiz and Ramirez Said to Be on '03 Doping List". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  17. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Panja, Tariq (April 20, 2024). "Top Chinese Swimmers Tested Positive for Banned Drug, Then Won Olympic Gold". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 21, 2024.