Susan Schmidt is an investigative reporter with the Wall Street Journal. She is best known for her work at The Washington Post

The Washington Post

The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...

, where she worked from 1983 until recently. While at the Post, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

 for investigative reporting in 2006, for her probe into and exposure of lobbyist Jack Abramoff

Jack Abramoff

Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...

's corrupt activities. The story was published in installments and co-written with James V. Grimaldi

James V. Grimaldi

James V. Grimaldi is an investigative reporter with the Washington Post and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 2006.He attended the University of Missouri at Columbia and became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity....

 and R. Jeffrey Smith

R. Jeffrey Smith

R. Jeffrey Smith is a reporter at the Washington Post and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting in 2006.Smith was a senior writer from 1977 to 1986 for Science magazine and he won two Science in Society Journalism Awards during that period. Afterward, his career has developed...

, who were also co-recipients of the Pulitzer Prize. She is also largely credited with writing the first story about the Monica Lewinsky

Monica Lewinsky

Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...

 investigation, though it is also said that The Drudge Report leaked the story in the hours before that day's Post was distributed. Because of her non-partisan reporting, Ms. Schmidt has been the focus of criticism from both conservative and liberal media sources, though some consider her even-handedness a hallmark of good journalism.

She is co-author with Michael Weisskopf

Michael Weisskopf

Michael Weisskopf is a Polk Award-winning journalist, currently working as a senior correspondent for Time magazine. A Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1996 for the accounts he and David Maraniss gave of the activities in 1995 following the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994,...

 of Truth at Any Cost: Ken Starr and the Unmaking of Bill Clinton (ISBN 0-06-019485-5), which is about Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr

Kenneth Starr

Kenneth Winston "Ken" Starr is an American lawyer and educational administrator who has also been a federal judge. He is best known for his investigation of figures during the Clinton administration....

  and the Lewinsky scandal

Lewinsky scandal

The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging in 1998 from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 25-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of...

.

She is married to Glen Nishimura, the Op-Ed editor for USA Today

USA Today

USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

.