Scott Fischler

I am an independent investigative reporter, and media and political communication analyst, focusing on government and nonprofit organization misconduct and corruption investigations, as well as accountability reporting.

I also conduct media and political communication analysis, and political opposition research and strategy. 

I am a member of Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) and member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

Investigative research includes: 1) public safety negligence, 2) malfeasance and corruption in local and state government, 3) California Fair Political Practices Commission enforcement actions for incumbent and candidate violations of the Political Reform Act concerning campaign filing irregularities and financial discrepancies, 4) alleged fraudulent misrepresentation of nonprofit corporation legal type, and 5) examining financial dynamics and exposure scenarios relevant to an emerging, risk-dense asset class referred to as asset-backed securitizations (ABS) collateralized by debt settlement (DS) fees.

Arizona State University - The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Media Studies: 4.0 GPA) - Coursework and expertise in Media Law; Media Ethics; Political Communication; Misinformation; Media Literacy; Interview and Inquiry.

Completion of “The Art of the Investigative Interview" component of the Investigative Editing Certificate Program at the Arizona State University, Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.

Areas of focus and expertise:

• Government & Nonprofit Corruption Investigations
• Accountability Reporting
• Media & Political Communication Analysis
• Political Opposition Research & Strategy

Current investigations include serious allegations of political and public corruption committed by one or more incumbents in the district supervisor elections in Tuolumne County, California and the adjacent Calaveras County, California in the Central Sierra Foothill region connected by SR 49; allegations of 'kingmaking' in progress by a former county district supervisor attempting to capture county governance by their political architecture of seed funding a hand-picked political newcomer to challenge an incumbent's seat and populate the County Board of Supervisors with real estate professionals and members of the law enforcement community (former and current) to create an impenetrable 4-1 majority voting bloc to control land use decisions.

Also conducting preliminary research and investigation of the emerging, risk-dense asset class referred to as asset-backed securitizations (ABS) collateralized by debt settlement (DS) fees. The first two transactions of this new asset class closed in Q4 2025. This asset class is at high-risk for legal and regulatory sensitivity. ABS collateralized by debt settlement fees have substantial exposure to a regulatory-shock scenario; more so if the first rated transactions from Q4 2025 become the focus of potentially deleterious in-depth scrutiny by state and federal consumer protection agencies and other legal authorities.

Now exploring the use of AI in Investigative Journalism to investigate large text-based and quantitative datasets, with some current applications including: 1) mapping the geographic distribution of several banned herbicides known to have been illegally sprayed -- to suppress roadside weed germination -- by a county's public works department, 2) analysis of a county's lapsed or unapproved Engineering and Traffic Surveys (E&TS) as a public safety risk metric, 3) analysis of the degree by which the barometric altitude displayed by a commonly-cited flight-tracking app providing Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data deviates between altitude MSL and pressure altitude, and 4) examination of factors contributing to 'margin-of-error discrepancies' between Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) collision reports created by the California Highway Patrol and the Caltrans Postmile Services Postmile Query Tool.

I consider myself an excellent and versatile interviewer, an exceptionally perceptive issue spotter exhibiting a demonstrated aptitude for investigative research including geospatial data and forensic examination, and deep analysis of campaign finance filings; I possess a keen eye for identifying incriminating fact patterns of government and nonprofit misconduct and corruption, and uncovering fact patterns and probative evidence of willful government negligence and public safety failures.