PERSON: Luke Russert

Congressional correspondent

Luke Russert joined NBC News in August 2008 as a correspondent based in Washington, D.C. Russert currently reports from Capitol Hill on the House of Representatives for “NBC Nightly News,” “Today,” MSNBC and NBCNews.com.
Russert covered the 2008 Presidential election, reporting from both the Democratic and Republican National conventions. His election day reporting on the impact of young people on Barack Obama’s victory contributed to NBC’s News & Documentary Emmy award as part of the 2008 Election Night coverage.

Since May of 2009, Russert has covered Congress with a focus on the House of Representatives. He has reported on various political issues including the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the Republican resurgence of 2010, the debt limit crisis of 2011 and the Fiscal Cliff fight of 2012. In 2010 Russert received a public apology from then House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) after the congressman chastised Russert for his aggressive questioning over an ethics report that determined Rangel had failed to disclose improper real estate holdings and had illegally solicited donations using official Congressional stationary. In 2011 Russert was the first journalist granted a sit down interview with Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) after reports surfaced that the congressman sent inappropriate pictures over the internet to young women. Weiner told Russert he “couldn’t say with certitude” if the pictures were in fact of him. Shortly after the interview Weiner resigned from Congress.

Since late 2011 Russert has served as a guest host on various MSNBC programs including: “Way Too Early” “The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd” “Andrea Mitchell Reports” “NOW with Alex Wagner” and “The Cycle.”
Russert blogs on First Read, the first place for key political news and analysis from the NBC News Political Unit.
Not limited to political reporting, Russert has covered Hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Irene, the earthquake that hit the East Coast in August in 2011 and the Boston bombings. He has also appeared as a street correspondent on NBC’s “New Years Eve Special with Carson Daly” and taped various interviews with celebrities including Usher, Jessica Alba and Ted Nugent.

In 2012 Russert filed a report for “Dateline” about the possible wrongful conviction of Jon-Adrian Velazquez at New York’s infamous Sing-Sing Prison. The report has been nominated for a 2013 News and Documentary Emmy award.
From March 2006-2010, Russert co-hosted the critically acclaimed sports radio talk show “60/20 Sports” with political pundit James Carville on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio. On “60/20 Sports” he interviewed the likes of former President Clinton, former President George Bush, Bill Russell, Cal Ripken Jr. and Lance Armstrong.

In May of 2009, Russert was honored with the Marlin Fitzwater Award for Leadership in Public Communication from Franklin Pierce University, an award meant to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to public discourse in the spirit of a healthy democracy. He’s also received an honorary degree from Wingate University in North Carolina.

Russert graduated from Boston College with a double major in history and communications. He is the son of the late Tim Russert and Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth. Russert lives in Washington, D.C., with his pug Chamberlain.

— nbcnews.com