Ari Shapiro

Ari Shapiro reports on the White House for NPR with a focus on national security and legal affairs. His stories appear on all of NPR's newsmagazines, including All Things Considered and Morning Edition, where he is also a frequent guest host. Shapiro began covering the White House in 2010 after five years as NPR's Justice Correspondent, during which time his coverage of Justice Department policies and controversies chronicled one of the most tumultuous periods in the department's history.

The first NPR reporter to be promoted to correspondent before age 30, Shapiro has been recognized with several journalism prizes, including The American Bar Association's Silver Gavel for his coverage of prisoners lost in Louisiana's detention system after Hurricane Katrina; The Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize for his investigation of methamphetamine use and HIV transmission; the Columbia Journalism Review's "laurel" recognition of his investigation into disability benefits for injured veterans; and the American Judges' Association's American Gavel for a body of work reporting on courts and the justice system. He has appeared as a guest analyst on television news programs including The NewsHour, The Rachel Maddow Show and CNN Newsroom.

Shapiro is based in Washington, D.C., where, as NPR's Justice Correspondent, he covered some of the most significant court cases in recent history, including Supreme Court rulings on Guantanamo detainees, the perjury trial of top White House official Lewis "Scooter" Libby and the fraud trial of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. He has also broken stories about the government's evolving approach to counterterrorism, detention and interrogation policies. He investigated abuses of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison and covered the legal proceedings against American soldiers accused of those abuses.

Before covering the Justice Department, Shapiro was NPR's regional reporter in Atlanta and then in Miami. In 2003, he was an NPR reporting fellow at WBUR in Boston.

Shapiro is a magna cum laude graduate of Yale. He began his journalism career in 2001 in the office of NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg. Shapiro was born in Fargo, North Dakota, and grew up in Portland, Oregon.

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Presidential Race
2:24 pm
Wed October 17, 2012

GOP Angry With Moderator Crowley After Debate

Originally published on Wed October 17, 2012 4:09 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Now, to NPR's Ari Shapiro, who's travelling with Mitt Romney. The Republican flew this morning to Chesapeake, Virginia, for a rally. And Ari, what did he have to say about last night's debate?

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: Well, he came out sounding chipper and he relived the moments of the debate that he was proudest of. This was right near the start of his stump speech today.

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Presidential Race
3:09 pm
Tue October 16, 2012

Can Romney Debate As Well When Not The Underdog?

Originally published on Tue October 16, 2012 4:06 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

For Mitt Romney, this moment is a peak in a campaign that has had more than its fair share of valleys. During the Republican primary campaign, Romney suffered a number of close calls as the nomination and the presidency seemed about to slip through his fingers. The most recent of those close calls came just two weeks ago in Denver when Romney lagged far behind President Obama going into that first debate.

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Presidential Race
3:17 am
Sat October 13, 2012

Candidates Return To The Trail After VP Debate

Originally published on Sat October 13, 2012 7:15 am

One day after the only vice presidential debate, Rep. Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden took to the campaign trail. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

Presidential Race
2:31 pm
Fri October 12, 2012

Ryan Attacks Biden On Libya Post-Debate

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 2:59 pm

One day after Congressman Paul Ryan debated Vice President Joe Biden, Mitt Romney took to the campaign trail in Virginia and Ohio.

Election 2012
1:47 am
Thu October 11, 2012

Romney Tries To Move To The Center

Originally published on Thu October 11, 2012 4:14 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This week in Iowa, the Des Moines Register asked Mitt Romney about abortion. Romney replied: There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda.

Democrats immediately noted that during the Republican primary campaign Romney actually wrote an article headlined, "My Pro-Life Pledge" that promised specific legislation. Much of his political base is pro-life and his campaign quickly clarified that Romney remains proudly pro-life and would support pro-life legislation.

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Election 2012
1:39 am
Wed October 10, 2012

Romney's Poll Numbers Improve Post Debate

Originally published on Wed October 10, 2012 3:48 am

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigned in Iowa and Ohio Tuesday, as a wave of new polls suggested Romney's strong debate performance last week paid off. Swing states that recently seemed far out of his reach now look like a virtual tie in polls, or even leaning in the Republican's direction.

Election 2012
3:59 am
Tue October 9, 2012

At VMI, Romney Criticizes Obama's Foreign Policy

Originally published on Tue October 9, 2012 8:25 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

On a Tuesday, it's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

Just about every poll since last week's presidential debate shows that Mitt Romney has made the race very close. A Pew survey showed Romney tied with President Obama among registered voters, and leading by four points among likely voters.

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NPR Story
1:33 pm
Mon October 8, 2012

Romney Paints Obama As 'Weak Leader' In Middle East

Originally published on Sun October 14, 2012 5:28 am

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel. Later this month, President Obama and Mitt Romney will meet for a debate focused exclusively on foreign policy, but the Republican is not waiting until then to confront the issue. Today, in a speech at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney attacked the Obama administration's policies, especially in the Middle East.

MITT ROMNEY: It's clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the president took office.

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Presidential Race
1:46 pm
Fri October 5, 2012

Romney Brushes Off Positive Unemployment News

Originally published on Fri October 5, 2012 8:07 pm

Transcript

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: I'm Ari Shapiro, traveling with the Romney campaign. The Republican presidential nominee had been chugging along on momentum from Wednesday's debate performance when this morning's unemployment numbers changed the story. At a rally near Virginia's border with Tennessee, that did not faze voters like Nancy Lemieux(ph). She says the statistics are bogus.

NANCY LEMIEUX: Because they twist the numbers to suit the politicians and right now, it's Obama's cronies. So I don't believe anything I hear on TV.

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Around the Nation
4:00 am
Fri October 5, 2012

Romney Campaigns In Virginia On Debate Momentum

The day after the first presidential debate, GOP challenger Mitt Romney rallied thousands of supporters in rural Virginia. Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan was there too, cheering on his running mate following Wednesday's strong debate performance in Denver.

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