"[1] The Washington Post won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, citing the work of reporters Priest and Anne Hull and photographer Michel du Cille "exposing mistreatment of wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital, evoking a national outcry and producing reforms by federal officials.

On April 21, 2006, The New York Times claimed that a European Union investigation, under the direction of the Swiss senator Dick Marty, has not proved the existence of secret CIA prisons in Europe.

[11] In an interview, Priest confirmed that the CIA had referred her story to the Justice Department, and that various Congressmembers have called for an inquiry, to determine whether she or her sources had broken any laws.

In an extended interview with Frontline, Priest responded to criticism that her Post reporting could have damaged national security by saying, "There's no floodgate of information out there in the realm of intelligence; there just isn't.

"Replying to a follow-up question about the possibility of damaging U.S. interests by publicizing or alluding to various intelligence capabilities, sources and methods, Priest said, "Does that make sense to you?

"[14]On February 18, 2007 Priest and Anne Hull exposed degrading conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for outpatient Iraq War veterans.

This prompted President George W. Bush to appoint former Senate Majority Leader and 1996 Presidential Candidate Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) and former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala to oversee the process of healthcare for wounded soldiers.

In an April 12, 2013 ceremony, Priest accepted the first Pell Center Prize for Storytelling in the Public Square award for this story and her other body of published work.

She was a recipient of the MacArthur grant, the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the National Defense in 2001, and the 2004 New York Public Library's Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism.

[26][27] An alumna of UC Santa Cruz,[28] and former editor of City on a Hill Press,[29] she lives in Washington, D.C., has two children and is married to William Goodfellow, the executive director of the Center for International Policy.