View in browser ([link removed]) | Support our newsroom ([link removed])
[link removed]


** THE WEEKLY REVEAL
------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, January 18, 2025

Hello! In this issue:
* Twenty years after the Battle of Fallujah, Marines still wrestle with what they were asked to do there.
* With Joe Biden's surprise pardon of his son and Donald Trump’s pledge to free January 6ers, we look at this controversial presidential power.


** THIS WEEK’S PODCAST
------------------------------------------------------------


** In Fallujah, We Destroyed Parts of Ourselves
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
Marines from 3rd Platoon of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, stand in front of the vehicle that will insert them into Fallujah, Iraq. Courtesy Robert Day

It’s been 20 years since the Battle of Fallujah, a bloody campaign in a destructive Iraq War that we now know was based on a lie.

But back then, in the wake of 9/11, the battlefield was filled with troops who believed in serving and defending the country against terrorism.

“Going to Fallujah was the most horrific experience of our lives,” said Mike Ergo, a team leader for the US Marines Alpha Company, 1st Battalion. “And it was also, for myself, the most alive I've ever felt.”

This week, we’re partnering with the nonprofit newsroom The War Horse to join Ergo’s unit as they reunite and try to make sense of what they did and what was done to them. Together, they remember Bradley Faircloth, the 20-year-old lance corporal from their unit who lost his life, and unpack the mental and emotional battles that continue for them today.
Listen to the episode ([link removed])
🎧 Other places to listen: Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) , Spotify ([link removed]) , iHeartRadio ([link removed]) , Pandora ([link removed]) , or wherever you get your podcasts.


**
------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
[link removed]


** One Number to Know
------------------------------------------------------------
238

During his first term, President Donald Trump used his clemency power 238 times, and many of those cases were controversial. President Joe Biden used his power to pardon his son Hunter before commuting the sentences of about 4,000 people and pardoning another 39. Now, Trump plans to wield his power in this second term to free people who are serving time for storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
On a recent episode of Reveal, we dig into how presidents have used the kingly and controversial power over decades.

Listen: All the President’s Pardons ([link removed]) [link removed]


** In Case You Missed It
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
🎧 ([link removed]) Take No Prisoners ([link removed])

[link removed]
🎧 Fortress Europe: The Fight for Refugees in Greece ([link removed])

Advertisement
[link removed]
This issue of The Weekly Reveal was written by Kate Howard and edited by Nikki Frick. If you enjoyed this issue, forward it to a friend ([link removed]) . Have some thoughts? Drop us a line (mailto:[email protected]) with feedback or ideas!

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Donate ([link removed])
Copyright © 2025 The Center for Investigative Reporting. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up for The Weekly Reveal newsletter.

Our mailing address is:
The Center for Investigative Reporting
PO Box 584
San Francisco, CA 94104
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from all Reveal emails ([link removed])
.