Blake Ellis - Senior Writer, CNN Investigates
Blake Ellis
Senior Writer, CNN Investigates
Blake Ellis is an award-winning investigative reporter for CNN. Her work has exposed everything from widespread sexual abuse in nursing homes to one of the longest-running scams in history. It has also inspired legislative action and government investigation. Email her at watchdog@cnn.com.
Latest
Senator says Coast Guard used illegal agreements to silence sexual assault victims
Apr 8, 2024
US Coast Guard leaders illegally used nondisclosure agreements to prevent sexual assault victims from speaking out about their alleged attacks, according to a congressional inquiry sparked by a CNN report into sexual misconduct at the prestigious Coast Guard Academy.
Texas governor predicted donations would pay for busing migrants out of state. He’s collected less than 1% of that cost
Mar 15, 2024
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott boasted shortly after he began soliciting private donations for his controversial migrant busing program that there would likely “be no cost to the state” given the outpouring of support from concerned citizens across the country.But after nearly more than two years of fundraising to offset the program’s costs, Abbott’s operation has collected less than half of 1% of the roughly $150 million spent on busing migrants to sanctuary cities, according to a review of state records. And CNN found that the largest donation –$900,000 – never made it into the state’s coffers, either because it was a mistake or a prank.
Migrant children in open-air desert camps are suffering from hunger and hypothermia, court documents say
Feb 29, 2024
The young girl from Colombia hid in a porta potty to shield herself from the biting wind and cold as she and her parents waited at a makeshift camp along the southern border earlier this month.
Coast Guard leaders made list of reasons not to tell Congress about explosive sexual assault investigation, new records show
Feb 16, 2024
Records turned over to Congress this month reveal how top officials at the US Coast Guard engaged in a calculated plan to conceal the damning findings of an investigation into decades of sexual assault cases at the agency’s academy, going so far as to create a list of the pros and cons of being transparent.
Senators raise alarm about nation’s largest prison health care provider
Dec 19, 2023
The nation’s largest prison health care provider has come under fire from a group of Democratic senators who say they are alarmed the government contractor’s chronic understaffing and cost-cutting measures may have put inmates’ lives in danger.
‘No consequences’: Women testify about sexual harassment and assault at Coast Guard Academy
Dec 13, 2023
Four women who say they were subjected to sexual assault and harassment at the US Coast Guard Academy testified to Congress on Tuesday about how they were silenced, retaliated against and left battling severe mental trauma while alleged perpetrators continued to thrive within the service.
Four women to testify at Senate hearing about sexual harassment and assault at Coast Guard Academy
Dec 12, 2023
Four women who attended the US Coast Guard Academy, including a current cadet, are expected to appear at a congressional hearing Tuesday and testify that the agency’s leaders failed to protect them from sexual harassment and assault.
House Oversight Committee launches investigation into Coast Guard after CNN report
Dec 8, 2023
The House Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into the US Coast Guard’s “mishandling of serious misconduct” — including sexual assault, racism and hazing — after CNN exposed that its leaders concealed reports documenting those problems from its workforce, the public and Congress.
‘Change is necessary’: Coast Guard pledges reforms after mishandling reports of sexual assault
Dec 6, 2023
The US Coast Guard, rocked by allegations that its leaders for years concealed damning information about sexual assaults and other serious misconduct, released a highly critical report Wednesday acknowledging it had “failed to keep our people safe,” while vowing to make reforms that would better protect them.
US Coast Guard leaders long concealed a critical report about racism, hazing and sexual misconduct
Nov 30, 2023
For nearly a decade, US Coast Guard leaders have concealed a critical report that exposed racism, hazing, discrimination and sexual assault across the agency.
Coast Guard Academy banned a retired captain from its grounds after CNN reported he sexted a student. Now more allegations are surfacing.
Sep 22, 2023
The US Coast Guard Academy on Friday announced it had banned a retired captain from its grounds following a CNN report this week that revealed the captain, who is now president of a small college, exchanged hundreds of sexually suggestive messages with a student more than a decade ago.
He was investigated for sexting a student at the Coast Guard Academy. He’s now a college president.
Sep 21, 2023
A college president, who wants his campus to become the business school “of choice for women,” once exchanged hundreds of sexually suggestive messages with a student he taught at the prestigious Coast Guard Academy, prompting prosecutors to recommend charges against him in military court, according to confidential records obtained by CNN.
A mariner accused of raping college student loses ability to work at sea, but escapes criminal charges
Aug 25, 2023
In a high-profile case that rocked the commercial shipping industry, a sailor accused of raping a student from the US Merchant Marine Academy has agreed to surrender his credential to work on ships, but he will not be criminally prosecuted.
Former Coast Guard head covered up secret investigation into sexual assaults at the Coast Guard Academy
Aug 8, 2023
The then-leader of the US Coast Guard covered up an explosive investigation four years ago into rapes and sexual assaults at the agency’s academy despite prior plans by top officials to come clean about the inquiry, a CNN investigation found.
CNN uncovered a damning, secret investigation into sexual assault at the US Coast Guard Academy. This woman’s case triggered that probe
Jul 12, 2023
CNN examined the case at the center of the US Coast Guard’s most sweeping investigation into sexual assaults at its academy. Her case not only shows how the Coast Guard routinely dismissed serious sexual misconduct in the past, but also how its failures continue to reverberate.
Criminal investigation into Coast Guard Academy revealed years of sexual assault cover-ups, but findings were kept secret
Jun 30, 2023
A secret investigation into alleged sexual abuse at the US Coast Guard Academy, the training ground for the Coast Guard’s top officers, uncovered a dark history of rapes, assaults and other serious misconduct being ignored and, at times, covered up by high-ranking officials.
About
Blake Ellis is an award-winning investigative reporter for CNN. Her work has exposed everything from widespread sexual abuse in nursing homes to one of the longest-running scams in history. It has also inspired legislative action and government investigation.
Ellis, and her longtime reporting partner, Melanie Hicken’s groundbreaking investigation into the secret world of government debt collectors won the prestigious Heywood Broun Award of Distinction and inspired lawmakers to take action with legislation aimed at closing the loophole highlighted in the stories. They were finalists for a Peabody Award for CNN’s coverage of guns in America, and the two journalists have been honored by the International Association of Broadcasting, the National Press Club, the National Endowment for Financial Education, the Radio Television Digital News Association and the National Association of Consumer Advocates. Ellis was also a recipient of awards from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and the Newswomen’s Club of New York. Ellis regularly appears on CNN and other television and radio networks to discuss her investigations.
Ellis is a graduate of Kenyon College in Gambier, OH. She previously covered personal finance for CNNMoney.
Email her at watchdog@cnn.com.
