American Oversight Profile picture
We're a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog that advances truth, accountability, and democracy by enforcing the public's right to government records.
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Mar 12 13 tweets 4 min read
It’s #SunshineWeek, a week that celebrates & promotes access to information and open government nationwide.

Today, we’re highlighting the power of #FOIA with a thread about its past, present, and future. We’re highlighting the power of #FOIA with a thread about its past, present, and future. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed FOIA into law on July 4, 1966. Records show LBJ personally removed strong language supporting open government from the press statement. He only agreed to sign it after DOJ suggested he include a signing statement.
nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/…
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed FOIA into law on July 4, 1966. Records show LBJ personally removed strong language supporting open government from the press statement. He only agreed to sign it after DOJ suggested he include a signing statement.
Jan 10 7 tweets 2 min read
Yesterday, D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments on presidential immunity in Trump’s election interference case.

Judges questioned both sides about our amicus brief arguing the D.C. Circuit lacks jurisdiction to hear Trump’s appeal on his immunity claims. Here’s what that’s about: In Trump’s federal election interference case, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that Trump is not entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution. Trump appealed the ruling, hoping to delay the trial set for March.
Jan 4 4 tweets 2 min read
As we approach the anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, former President Trump faces criminal charges for attempting to subvert the election. An amicus brief we filed in this case could thwart his effort to delay his trial until after this year’s election.
latimes.com/opinion/story/… In the election interference case, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that Trump is not entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution. Trump appealed that ruling, hoping to delay the trial set for March.
Dec 15, 2023 6 tweets 2 min read
For more than a year, we’ve been investigating how the election denial movement led several states to leave ERIC, a nonpartisan organization that helps maintain up-to-date voting lists.

Here’s what our investigation uncovered. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
The same people who tried to overturn the 2020 election worked behind the scenes to influence the ERIC exodus by promoting false claims and conspiracy theories — priming states for post-election chaos that could be used to deny election results in 2024.
americanoversight.org/the-right-wing…
Dec 8, 2023 7 tweets 2 min read
Jared Kushner and Steve Mnuchin secured billions in investments from Middle East nations after leaving the Trump administration. We obtained travel records related to their trips to Persian Gulf states in the final weeks of the admin. #FoiaFriday Records show details about Kushner's and Mnuchin's trips to Middle East Documents released through our ongoing lawsuit against the Treasury Department and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation include flight itineraries, travel authorizations, and expense records from three separate trips.
Oct 20, 2023 12 tweets 4 min read
The effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election was built on a decades-long campaign by conservative activists and lawmakers. Here’s a look at this activism prior to the 2020 election and how the “voter fraud” narrative was built. #FoiaFriday Building the Election Denial Movement In the last two decades, a robust “election integrity” movement has grown out of a conservative backlash. Activists have long used overblown claims about fraud to justify voting restrictions aimed at ensuring a conservative electorate. Voter Fraud Brain Trust
Sep 28, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
We previously obtained emails between top Trump administration DHS officials and Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of the Supreme Court justice.

The emails show Thomas sharing conspiracy theories in the days before the 2020 election.
americanoversight.org/document/dhs-c…
Screenshot of an email sent by Ginni Thomas. In part, the email reads: "[Redacted] asked me for links we have all been sharing about the coming insurrection, chaos, and violence. It is not random. It appears very organized if you have the eyes to see and read and hear." On Oct. 28, 2020 — less than a week before the election — Ginni Thomas sent more than a dozen links to a Google group. “[Redacted] asked me for links we have all been sharing about the coming insurrection, chaos, and violence,” she wrote.
Sep 22, 2023 6 tweets 2 min read
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Vos created a secret panel to advise on the potential impeachment of state Supreme Court Justice Protasiewicz.

We filed a complaint with the Dane County DA alleging the secret panel violates the state’s Open Meetings Law. #FoiaFriday Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Vos created a secret panel to advise on the potential impeachment of state Supreme Court Justice Protasiewicz.   We filed a complaint with the Dane County DA alleging the secret panel violates the state’s Open Meetings Law. #FoiaFriday The complaint asks the district attorney to void any actions of the panel that did not comply with the Open Meetings Law and take steps to prevent further meetings.
americanoversight.org/complaint-agai…
Aug 30, 2023 11 tweets 4 min read
Earlier this year, Florida rejected AP’s African American Studies course.

Records we obtained shed new light on the state DOE’s review of the course — including concerns it presented only “one side” in discussions of slavery.
americanoversight.org/does-not-offer… The records, released in response to our lawsuit, contain internal comments from the department’s review that provide glaring examples of how the state has sought to minimize and whitewash U.S. history as part of Gov. DeSantis’ attacks on education.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
Aug 29, 2023 13 tweets 3 min read
We compiled a guide to public records we’ve obtained that shed light on the activities and communications of individuals named or likely referred to in the recent DOJ and Fulton County indictments of Donald Trump and his co-conspirators.
americanoversight.org/co-defendants-… Co-conspirator 1 in the DOJ indictment, identified as Rudy Giuliani, is described as “an attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that the Defendant’s 2020 re-election campaign attorneys would not.”
Jun 21, 2023 9 tweets 4 min read
The House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing now on the report of Special Counsel Durham’s politicized investigation of the FBI’s Russia inquiry.

Durham was asked about the frequency of his meetings with former AG Barr, as revealed by records we obtained through FOIA. Image of House Judiciary Co... Rep. Jackson Lee highlighted a memo that Barr, prior to his appointment, had sent then Deputy AG Rosenstein regarding the Mueller investigation. We obtained Barr’s text with the memo. He wrote that he felt “very deeply about some of the issues taking shape in the Mueller matter.” Text message that reads in ...
Jun 21, 2023 4 tweets 1 min read
NEW: Documents we obtained shed light on former Trump DOJ official Seth DuCharme’s high-level involvement in Special Counsel John Durham’s politicized investigation of the FBI’s Russia inquiry.
americanoversight.org/in-the-records… The records include recently unredacted versions of documents, the content of which had been shielded from release under a FOIA exemption covering information related to ongoing law enforcement proceedings.
documentcloud.org/documents/2053…
Jun 14, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
We obtained emails between top Trump administration DHS officials and Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of the Supreme Court justice.

The emails show Thomas sharing election conspiracies in the days before the 2020 election.
americanoversight.org/document/dhs-c… Screenshot of an email sent... On Oct. 28, 2020 — less than a week before the election — Ginni Thomas sent more than a dozen links to a Google Group called “20024.” “[Redacted] asked me for links we have all been sharing about the coming insurrection, chaos, and violence,” she wrote. Screenshot of an email sent...
Jun 14, 2023 4 tweets 1 min read
NEW: We’re seeking a default judgment against Wake TSI in our Pennsylvania election audit records case.

Wake TSI failed to respond to our filing adding the company as a defendant in the lawsuit.
americanoversight.org/american-overs… We sued Fulton County in January 2022 for public records from the election review, which was conducted by Wake TSI, a company closely involved in post-2020 election denial efforts. In April, we filed an amended complaint adding Wake TSI as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Jun 9, 2023 8 tweets 3 min read
Yesterday, we filed two lawsuits seeking records regarding incidents of white supremacy across the U.S. armed forces.

Records we’ve previously obtained have illustrated how branches of the military have not adequately tracked incidents of white supremacy. #FoiaFriday Image In 2020, the Air Force told us that it had no records of any study or report on incidents of white supremacist or far-right activity or ideology among military personnel.
americanoversight.org/document/no-re…
Jun 9, 2023 9 tweets 3 min read
NEW: Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan was originally slated to participate in Wisconsin’s election review, according to records released by the Arizona Senate and previously held by Cyber Ninjas.
americanoversight.org/texts-between-… The records, which contain text messages exchanged by Logan and Trump-allied lawyer Christina Bobb in 2021, include behind-the-scenes discussions between Logan and Bobb about the Maricopa County election “audit” and provide more insight into Bobb’s role in that review.
Jun 8, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
NEW: Records we obtained, reported on by @Z_Everson of Forbes, reveal that the DOD spent nearly $1 million at properties owned by former President Donald Trump between July 2017 and November 2019, far exceeding previously reported expense totals.
americanoversight.org/defense-depart… In 2019, we asked the DOD for records regarding federal spending at Trump properties. This May, DOD released a spreadsheet that shows $974,634.02 spent at Trump properties from July 25, 2017, through Nov. 20, 2019.
forbes.com/sites/zachever…
Jun 8, 2023 6 tweets 2 min read
NEW: We’re suing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and army national guards of four states (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas) for records detailing incidents of white supremacy across the U.S. armed forces.
americanoversight.org/american-overs… The two lawsuits come after each entity failed to adequately respond to our Freedom of Information Act requests for a range of documents related to white supremacist activity and ideology among servicemembers.
Jun 5, 2023 11 tweets 2 min read
NEW: The Dane County Circuit Court denied the Wisconsin Office of Special Counsel’s motions to dismiss our lawsuit asking the court to require OSC to retain its public records and to disclose records related to its discredited review of the 2020 election.
americanoversight.org/wisconsin-cour… In the ruling, the court affirmed that OSC — and any future version of it — must comply with the state’s record retention laws.
May 26, 2023 6 tweets 2 min read
On Thursday, a Texas House committee recommended that state Attorney General Ken Paxton be impeached. Paxton, who was reelected last year, claimed the call for impeachment amounts to an effort “to overturn the results of a free and fair election.”
motherjones.com/politics/2023/… As @MotherJones points out, the statement is particularly ironic given Paxton’s role in trying to overturn the 2020 election. The article also mentions emails from December 2020 that we obtained from the Florida attorney general’s office.
May 26, 2023 7 tweets 2 min read
After leaving the Trump administration, Jared Kushner and Steve Mnuchin secured billions in investments from Middle East nations.

We obtained travel records related to their trips to Persian Gulf states during the final weeks of the admin. #FoiaFriday Records show details about ... The documents, released through our ongoing lawsuit against the Treasury Department and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, include flight itineraries, travel authorizations, and expense records from three separate trips.