Pierre Thomas
Pierre Thomas is the chief justice correspondent for ABC News. He joined the network in November 2000 and reports for “World News Tonight with David Muir,” “Good Morning America,” “Nightline,” “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” and all platforms, including ABC News Radio and digital.
During his esteemed tenure at ABC News, he has earned a number of notable awards, including one of the most prestigious honors in broadcast journalism. The Paul White Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) is the highest honor from the organization, which also oversees the Murrow Awards. Thomas also earned the RTDNA’s second-highest honor: the John F Hogan Distinguished Service Award, making him, along with Walter Cronkite, one of only three journalists to receive both of RTDNA’s highest honors. In 2024, the Emmys® entered Thomas into its Silver Circle, calling him one of the most trusted names in news and recognizing his 25 years of excellence. He has also been inducted into the Society of Professional Journalists’ Washington, D.C., chapter Hall of Fame. Thomas is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and in 2012, he was named NABJ’s Journalist of the Year. In 2022, he was a recipient of the John S. Curl Journalist of the Year from the News Literacy Project for his commitment to quality journalism and news literacy education. He has multiple Emmys and Murrow Awards as part of the network’s coverage of some of the biggest stories in recent memory. Thomas was a key member of ABC’s team of correspondents covering the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, and he continues to report on all aspects of the aftermath of those attacks. The network’s coverage of the 9/11 tragedy was widely recognized for its excellence, winning the prestigious Peabody and Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards and an Emmy Award.
From special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation targeting former President Trump to the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando and the Boston marathon terrorist attacks, Thomas has covered countless major news stories at ABC News. Thomas reported on the death of George Floyd and the protests against racial injustice and police brutality that arose in the wake of his death and conducted exclusive interviews with former Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Chris Wray. In 2021, Thomas secured the first exclusive television interview with U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who protected the Capitol against armed insurrectionists on Jan. 6.
A former Washington Post reporter, Thomas was part of the team whose work was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for reporting on illegal gun use in the Washington, D.C., region. Thomas joined CNN as a Justice Department correspondent in 1997. While there, he broke news on many fronts, including terrorism, cybercrime, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the FBI’s Most Wanted list and the Justice Department’s involvement in the Elian Gonzalez case. He started his career at The Roanoke Times and World News.
Thomas is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is a member of Gridiron Club, the nation’s oldest and one of its most prestigious journalistic organizations. Thomas is a past chairman of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which honored him with the Career Achievement Award in 2023.
