How a Man Once Ordered to Pay Libel Damages Helped Launch an Investigation Into Islamic Private Schools

ProPublica and The Texas Tribune report that Sam Westrop, a British-based researcher previously ordered to pay $173,000 in libel damages for falsely calling someone a "convicted terrorist," helped trigger a state investigation into Islamic private schools seeking admission to Texas's voucher program. The comptroller's office contracted investigators to examine nearly 50 private schools allegedly tied to extremist groups or the Chinese government—far broader than previously reported—with Westrop's claims cited as a primary reason for delays, though all investigated schools were ultimately admitted to the program. The reporting demonstrates strong investigative rigor: it draws on an eight-hour deposition from the comptroller's chief counsel (Murl Miller) that contradicts the state's public explanation of events, documents that Miller did not research Westrop's prior defamation judgment before acting on his claims, and shows a pattern where the comptroller removed at least one school (Bayaan Academy) from approval within two hours of receiving Westrop's research. The independent search results corroborate the ProPublica/Tribune account and suggest this is the primary reporting on this specific connection; other results discuss unrelated Islamic school incidents. Watch for the ongoing class-action certification decision and whether Texas officials clarify their vetting procedures for source credibility in future voucher program determinations.