David Nakamura

Washington, D.C.

Reporter covering the Justice Department and civil rights.

Education: University of Missouri, bachelor of journalism

David Nakamura started at The Washington Post as a summer intern in 1992. After four years as a sports reporter, he moved to the local news staff and wrote about education in Virginia and Maryland and city government in the District. In 2004, he was part of a team that uncovered high levels of lead contamination in D.C. tap water, a series that won the 2005 Selden Ring Award for investigative reporting. He has reported from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Japan and covered the Obama and Trump White Houses.
Share confidential news tips with The Post
Latest from David Nakamura

At Trump’s N.Y. trial, the jury pool spoke, and he had to listen

The jury selection process for Trump’s hush money trial gave ordinary Americans a chance to offer their opinions on the former president’s nearly five decades in the public spotlight.

April 21, 2024
Former president Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan's Criminal Court with his legal team ahead of the start of jury selection in New York on Monday.

What to know about Trump’s New York charges — and any potential sentence

In the hush money trial that starts next week, Trump is accused of falsifying business records to help cover up an alleged affair before the 2016 election

April 19, 2024
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a news conference following the arraignment of Donald Trump in New York City on April 4, 2023. (Jeenah Moon for The Washington Post)

Trump’s the likely GOP nominee. He can serve even if convicted of a crime.

In drafting the Constitution, the framers did not seriously consider that someone convicted of a felony would be a viable White House candidate, one expert said.

April 19, 2024
Former president Donald Trump attends a hearing in his New York hush money case March 25.

Seven jurors picked in Trump’s N.Y. trial as judge presses ahead

The New York Supreme Court justice overseeing former president Donald Trump’s criminal trial said opening statements could begin as soon as Monday.

April 16, 2024
Donald Trump at Manhattan criminal court with his legal team ahead of the start of jury selection in New York on Monday.

As hush money trial begins, Trump’s sex life emerges as key theme

The opening day of Donald Trump’s criminal trial delved deep into his tabloid-fodder sex life, even before any prospective jurors were questioned.

April 15, 2024
Former president Donald Trump in Manhattan criminal court on Monday.

Trump comes face-to-face with prospective jurors, anonymous to public

Donald Trump came face-to-face Monday with some of the New Yorkers who could decide his fate.

April 15, 2024
Trump walks back to the courtroom following an afternoon break on Monday.

Before Trump, here’s how some other countries prosecuted their ex-leaders

With the U.S. on the brink of prosecuting an ex-president for the first time via Donald Trump, other cases around the world have demonstrated the merits of placing top officials on trial — and the potential pitfalls

April 11, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump participate in a White House signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords on Sept. 15, 2020.

Six ‘Goon Squad’ officers get long prison terms for torturing two Black men

A federal judge sentenced the last two of six White ex-law enforcement officers known as the ‘Goon Squad’ to long prison terms for their torture of two Black men.

March 21, 2024
Michael Corey Jenkins, left, and Eddie Terrell Parker enter the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday.

Former Louisville officer faces third trial in Breonna Taylor slaying

Despite mass protests for social justice, four years after police fatally shot Taylor, a Black woman, no officer involved in the raid has gone to jail.

March 11, 2024
A woman mourns Breonna Taylor in Louisville's Jefferson Square on Sept. 24, 2020, a day after protests in response to the announcement from then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron regarding an investigation into her death. (Leandro Lozada for The Washington Post)

Justice Dept. to seek death penalty for Buffalo mass killer

Federal authorities gave notice in a court filing ahead of a status conference hearing for Payton Gendron, who has pleaded guilty to state charges after a racist rampage in Buffalo in 2022.

January 12, 2024
Vice President Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, visit a memorial near the site of the Buffalo supermarket shooting after a service for Ruth Whitfield, one of the victims, on May 28, 2022.