281-454-1933
In Texas, County Commissioners Are Free to Harvest Contractor Cash
Loose campaign finance laws permit politicians in Harris County to hide relationships between top campaign donors and the contracting firms paid with public funds.
Lise Olsen
Lise Olsen is a Houston-based senior reporter and editor at the Texas Observer. Lise has investigated many twisted Texas tales, including crooked judges, an unjust execution, massive environmental disasters, myriad cases of corporate and public corruption, and unsolved serial killings. Her reports in three states over 20 years contributed to the prosecutions of a former congressman and a federal judge, inspired laws and reforms, helped solve cold cases, restored names to unidentified murder victims, and freed dozens of wrongfully-held prisoners. Her work is featured in CNN's “The Wrong Man” (2015) about the innocence claims of executed offender Ruben Cantu and the six-part A&E series on the victims of a 1970s serial killer, The Eleven, (2017). She is the author of Code of Silence: Sexual Misconduct by Federal Judges, the Secret System that Protects Them and the Women who Blew the Whistle.
Articles by Lise Olsen
A Texas Mother Could Be Executed in April. Was Her Child’s Death Really a Murder?
Melissa Lucio, whose execution could take place this year, claims her innocence.
A Boom of Strip Club Lawsuits in Texas
Unpaid exotic dancers are suing—and often winning back wages—but clubs and corporations aren’t changing their ways.
Are the poor subsidizing the University of Texas?
A new documentary alleges that $280 million reserved for indigent healthcare and hospitalization in Austin has been improperly diverted to Dell Medical School.
Love—and Casseroles—in the Time of COVID-19
During the pandemic, once-ordinary dinners with friends take on new meaning.
Dallas Serial Killer Verdict Shows Justice Is Scarce for Elderly Victims
A judge declared a mistrial this week in the murder trial of Billy Chemirmir, leaving the families of more than 20 victims waiting for answers.
‘Code of Silence’ Reveals How Courts Systems Protect Federal Judges Accused of Misconduct
A new book illustrates how complaints are often suppressed—even in the case of a Galveston judge who sexually assaulted employees in his chambers.
How Public Corruption Investigations Can Fail
A former Texas Ranger provides rare insights into the mostly secret system set up to investigate complaints about public officials.
In Texas, Corrupt Politicians Face Little Accountability
The Texas Rangers are tasked with investigating corruption and crimes by public officials. Those officials are rarely held accountable.