2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism

Sean Davis won the 2025 Dao Grand Prize, $100,000, with the rest of The Federalist staff for their series on the Russia collusion hoax.

Sean Davis is CEO and co-founder of The Federalist. He previously worked as an economic policy adviser to Gov. Rick Perry, as CFO of Daily Caller, and as chief investigator for Sen. Tom Coburn. He was named by The Hill as one of the top congressional staffers under the age of 35 for his role in spearheading the enactment of the law that created USASpending.gov. Sean received a BBA in finance from Texas Tech University and an MBA in finance and entrepreneurial management from the Wharton School. He can be reached via e-mail at sean@thefederalist.com.

Here are some of their reports on the collusion hoax:

Jake Tapper Is Lying About CNN’s Key Role In The Russia Collusion Hoax, Mollie Hemingway, October 29, 2024

EXCLUSIVE: Henchmen Behind Brennan’s Fake Russia Collusion Assessment Are Still At The CIA, Margot Cleveland, July 10, 2025

Report: Russia Hoax Was Built On ‘One Scant, Unclear, And Unverifiable Fragment Of A Sentence’, Breccan F. Thies, July 23, 2025

EXCLUSIVE: ‘This Should NOT Be Included’ — Read Intel Officials’ Objections To ‘Extremely Sketchy’ Steele Dossier, Margot Cleveland and Mollie Hemingway, July 24, 2025

EXCLUSIVE: DOJ Official Who Approved $2 Million Payout To Disgraced Russia Hoaxers Identified As Left-Wing Activist Brian Netter, Mollie Hemingway, August 1, 2025

BREAKING: DOJ Requests DNI Documents Following Gabbard Criminal Referral On Russiagate Conspiracy, Sean Davis, August 5, 2025