Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #FOIAfriday
Most recents (24)
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
Records we’ve previously obtained have illustrated how branches of the military have not adequately tracked incidents of white supremacy. #FoiaFriday
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…
americanoversight.org/document/no-re…
Other records we obtained from the Navy and Coast Guard in 2021 and reported on by USA Today showed “a pattern in which military leaders chose to deal with personnel involved in extremism by dismissing them in ways that would not attract public attention.”
americanoversight.org/records-from-n…
americanoversight.org/records-from-n…
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
We obtained travel records related to their trips to Persian Gulf states during the final weeks of the admin. #FoiaFriday
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.
In 2020, Kushner launched the Abraham Fund, a U.S.-sponsored program purportedly intended to raise $3 billion for projects in the Middle East.
In the final weeks of the administration, Kushner and Mnuchin met with Gulf nation officials, ostensibly to discuss the fund.
In the final weeks of the administration, Kushner and Mnuchin met with Gulf nation officials, ostensibly to discuss the fund.
This Memorial Day weekend, @POGOwatchdog is revealing a recent Army watchdog report that paints a disturbing picture of its research response to high rates of suicide and sexual assault in its ranks that have plagued the Army for years
pogo.org/investigation/…
pogo.org/investigation/…
The Army’s active-duty suicide rate in 2021 was 47% more than the Marine Corps & more than 2x that of the Navy & Air Force. But the Army's oversight of its research into suicide & other harmful behaviors has many long-standing shortcomings
pogo.org/investigation/…
pogo.org/investigation/…
From 2020 to 2021, Army sexual assault reports rose 25%+, a much higher increase than any other military service
“It is clear that the military has not meaningfully addressed the scourge of sexual assault and harassment," Josh Connolly w/ @ProtectRDfnders told me
“It is clear that the military has not meaningfully addressed the scourge of sexual assault and harassment," Josh Connolly w/ @ProtectRDfnders told me
Conservative political leaders across the country are launching attacks on public education by limiting what instructors can teach about racism and gender.
Here’s how we’re using public records requests to investigate these egregious attacks. #FoiaFriday
Here’s how we’re using public records requests to investigate these egregious attacks. #FoiaFriday
Some states are passing measures to restrict the rights of students, drum up political support among aggrieved conservative parents, and whitewash and deteriorate public education, ultimately shoring up school choice movements.
apnews.com/article/utah-s…
apnews.com/article/utah-s…
Often under the banner of “parents’ rights,” and taking cues from far-right groups like Moms for Liberty, these efforts threaten to leave underrepresented minorities behind and bring classrooms into the arena of right-wing culture wars.
slate.com/news-and-polit…
slate.com/news-and-polit…
This month, American Oversight is celebrating our sixth anniversary of fighting to bring government records to light.
Here are six of our biggest wins for public accountability and transparency. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/this-sunshine-…
Here are six of our biggest wins for public accountability and transparency. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/this-sunshine-…
1. Reaffirming proper records retainment practices to combat election denial in Arizona and Wisconsin.
Our public records litigation in Arizona and Wisconsin reaffirmed the importance of document preservation and public accountability.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
Our public records litigation in Arizona and Wisconsin reaffirmed the importance of document preservation and public accountability.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
Our investigation revealed that leaders of the Wisconsin Assembly’s election review failed to properly maintain documents.
Multiple court decisions affirmed the public’s right to those records and the importance of preservation.
apnews.com/article/2022-m…
Multiple court decisions affirmed the public’s right to those records and the importance of preservation.
apnews.com/article/2022-m…
This Sunshine Week, we’re highlighting serious threats to public accountability as well as major victories in government transparency.
Here are three major threats to transparency — and three big wins from the last year. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/sunshine-week-…
Here are three major threats to transparency — and three big wins from the last year. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/sunshine-week-…
1. State legislatures exempting themselves from open records laws.
A concerning pattern is emerging in state legislatures: Lawmakers are taking steps to exempt themselves from public records laws and shield themselves from public scrutiny.
A concerning pattern is emerging in state legislatures: Lawmakers are taking steps to exempt themselves from public records laws and shield themselves from public scrutiny.
In January, the Arizona Legislature implemented rule changes that call for the deletion of correspondence sent or received by lawmakers and staff after 90 days unless someone makes an active decision to retain a given email, letter, or text message.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has unleashed a series of measures harmful to students of color and gay and transgender students in his home state.
We’re using public records requests to investigate these right-wing attacks on education and student expression. #FoiaFriday
We’re using public records requests to investigate these right-wing attacks on education and student expression. #FoiaFriday
In 2022, DeSantis signed the Stop WOKE Act, which prohibited the teaching of certain concepts that could make students feel “guilt, anguish, or any other forms of psychological distress” because of their race or national origin.
americanoversight.org/in-the-documen…
americanoversight.org/in-the-documen…
He also signed the Parental Rights in Education Act — also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — which banned teaching children about gender or sexual identity.
npr.org/2022/03/28/108…
npr.org/2022/03/28/108…
Public records laws are incredible tools that advance transparency and accountability.
Unfortunately, some state governments are challenging sunshine laws.
Here are some of the biggest threats to government transparency. #FoiaFriday
Unfortunately, some state governments are challenging sunshine laws.
Here are some of the biggest threats to government transparency. #FoiaFriday
A bill advancing in the Missouri Senate would rewrite the state’s Sunshine Law to severely limit what kind of information members of the public can obtain regarding the activities of legislators — allowing lawmakers to block the release of previously available records.
Just five years ago, Missourians voted overwhelmingly to require transparency from their state legislature. Now, lawmakers are trying to turn back the clock.
americanoversight.org/the-show-me-no…
americanoversight.org/the-show-me-no…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is attempting to transform New College — a small, progressive public college — to be more conservative. We’re using public records requests to investigate. THREAD
#FoiaFriday
#FoiaFriday
In January, DeSantis removed six of New College’s 13 trustees and replaced them with conservative allies. The new board then replaced the college’s president with Richard Corcoran, DeSantis’ former education commissioner.
nytimes.com/2023/02/14/us/…
nytimes.com/2023/02/14/us/…
Records we previously obtained shed light on Corcoran’s time in DeSantis’ administration. In April 2021, DeSantis’ chief of staff emailed his external affairs director what appears to be an agenda. On the list: “Direct Corcoran on Critical Race Theory.”
americanoversight.org/document/flori…
americanoversight.org/document/flori…
For years, we’ve been investigating the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance initiative, the immigration policy that formalized the separation of children from families.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the important records we’ve uncovered. #FoiaFriday
Here’s a breakdown of some of the important records we’ve uncovered. #FoiaFriday
This week, the @washingtonpost published an analysis of the ongoing effects of this policy. Nearly 1,000 children remain separated and hundreds have not even begun the process of reunification.
washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/…
washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/…
Through public records requests and litigation, we’ve obtained records of misleading responses from the Department of Homeland Security to external inquiries about the policy.
NEW/#FOIAFriday: NARA released 74 pages of emails that show agency officials working with a personal lawyer for President Joe Biden to recover documents discovered at Biden’s think tank.
STORY bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
STORY bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
The emails indicate that Biden’s legal team was in close communication with Gary Stern, the National Archives’ general counsel, and other Archives officials about the records and fielded numerous questions about whether any were stored in other locations.
“In terms of taking custody to any papers, yes, we are prepared to facilitate whatever access you need to accomplish NARA taking custody of whatever materials it seems appropriate,” Biden's lawyer, Bob Bauer, wrote to Stern after the documents were found last November.
What is the “constitutional sheriffs” movement?
How is it involved in election denial efforts?
Here’s what you need to know about the movement — and how we’re investigating.
#FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
How is it involved in election denial efforts?
Here’s what you need to know about the movement — and how we’re investigating.
#FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
The “constitutional sheriffs” movement — a fringe theory that holds that sheriffs have more law enforcement power in their home counties than any other government body or individual — has risen in influence over the past decade.
Adherents believe that county sheriffs are the ultimate authority in determining the constitutionality of the laws they must enforce — including on matters of election administration.
statesuniteddemocracy.org/wp-content/upl…
statesuniteddemocracy.org/wp-content/upl…
We believe transparency is the first step to accountability.
That’s why we file public records requests every week for records that could shed light on government misconduct at all levels of government.
Here are some of the requests we’ve recently submitted. #FOIAFriday
That’s why we file public records requests every week for records that could shed light on government misconduct at all levels of government.
Here are some of the requests we’ve recently submitted. #FOIAFriday
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed measures that limit how teachers can educate students about racism. This week, after DeSantis criticized an AP African American Studies course, the College Board changed the curriculum for the course.
nytimes.com/2023/02/01/us/…
nytimes.com/2023/02/01/us/…
We’re investigating efforts to restrict education in Florida. We asked 5 sheriff departments in Florida for communications with the activist group Moms for Liberty, which has advocated for book bans and reportedly tried to have sheriffs arrest librarians.
americanoversight.org/documents?docu…
americanoversight.org/documents?docu…
“[T]he 2023 legislative season stands out for the aggressiveness with which lawmakers are pushing into new territory” with a slew of anti-transgender bills.
We’ve been investigating anti-transgender initiatives in Florida, Virginia, and Texas. #FoiaFriday
nytimes.com/2023/01/25/us/…
We’ve been investigating anti-transgender initiatives in Florida, Virginia, and Texas. #FoiaFriday
nytimes.com/2023/01/25/us/…
Last year, the Florida Board of Medicine voted to restrict gender-affirming care.
We asked the state Dept. of Health for analyses regarding the impacts of this decision, communications between board members and the governor’s office, and more.
We asked the state Dept. of Health for analyses regarding the impacts of this decision, communications between board members and the governor’s office, and more.
We submitted public records requests to five county sheriff departments in Florida seeking communications with the activist group Moms for Liberty, which has advocated for policies that would ban discussion of gender identity in schools.
americanoversight.org/documents?docu…
americanoversight.org/documents?docu…
Lawmakers in Texas have proposed expanding the attorney general’s power to prosecute election crimes.
Records we obtained show the Texas AG’s office spent over 22,000 staff hours working on voter fraud cases in 2020 — yet it closed out only 16 minor cases. #FoiaFriday
Records we obtained show the Texas AG’s office spent over 22,000 staff hours working on voter fraud cases in 2020 — yet it closed out only 16 minor cases. #FoiaFriday
Last month, the Texas secretary of state confirmed that there was no widespread voter fraud or other serious issues with the state’s 2020 election. texastribune.org/2022/12/19/tex…
The records we uncovered, reported on by the @Houstonchron, also showed that the Texas Attorney General’s office spent almost twice as much time working on voter fraud cases in 2020 as it did in 2018, yet resolved half as many cases.
houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…
houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…
Yesterday, a South Dakota judge ruled that our lawsuit seeking Gov. Kristi Noem’s travel and expense records could proceed, rejecting efforts by Noem’s office to prevent public accountability.
Here’s how we’ve been investigating Noem’s use of taxpayer dollars. #FoiaFriday
Here’s how we’ve been investigating Noem’s use of taxpayer dollars. #FoiaFriday
In 2021, we uncovered records that showed Noem spent thousands on decor and furnishings for her office and residence. Her office spent about $60,000 between January 2019 and September 2021.
americanoversight.org/new-records-de…
americanoversight.org/new-records-de…
In May 2022, we requested travel and expense records from Noem’s office. In June, the office rejected the request. We followed up later that month with a “formal” request, which was again denied, leading us to sue in September.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
In 2022, we used public records requests and litigation to investigate abuses of power and threats to our democracy. Here are some of American Oversight’s biggest stories this year. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
Threats to Democracy: The fake electoral certificates, which we first obtained in 2021, drew renewed attention in January 2022, and the Jan. 6 committee later issued subpoenas to 14 of the false electors.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Records we obtained show that several of the false electors remained involved in partisan and discredited investigations of the 2020 election.
americanoversight.org/fake-electors-…
americanoversight.org/fake-electors-…
We believe transparency is the first step to accountability.
Our public records litigation has exposed several instances of government agencies deleting records. Here’s what we’ve uncovered and how it’s led to better preservation practices.
#FoiaFriday
Our public records litigation has exposed several instances of government agencies deleting records. Here’s what we’ve uncovered and how it’s led to better preservation practices.
#FoiaFriday
In court filings related to our #FOIA litigation, the Defense Department & the Army admitted they failed to preserve texts from Jan. 6, 2021, having “wiped” the phones of certain top officials. The texts were wiped AFTER we submitted FOIAs for them.
americanoversight.org/defense-depart…
americanoversight.org/defense-depart…
The news had an immediate impact. In August, both DOD and DHS announced new policies to preserve information stored on mobile devices, and the deputy defense secretary instructed officials to preserve messages that may be federal records.
cnn.com/2022/08/04/pol…
cnn.com/2022/08/04/pol…
We obtained emails illustrating how election conspiracy theorists — including those who had been active in the Arizona “audit” — sought to export their politicized fraud-hunting to New Hampshire after the 2020 election. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/in-the-documen…
americanoversight.org/in-the-documen…
In November 2020, lies about voter fraud descended on a local race for the state House in Windham, N.H. A recount that had been requested by the losing candidate confirmed the outcome of the election, but resulted in significantly different vote margins.
The discrepancy was revealed to be an anomaly, but it became the focus of “conspiracy theorists trying to sow doubt in the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election … despite a lack of evidence that the issue in Windham is in any way systemic.”
nhpr.org/nh-news/2021-0…
nhpr.org/nh-news/2021-0…
Earlier this year, Gov. Abbott directed Texas officials to investigate cases of minors receiving gender-affirming medical care as child abuse.
We’ve uncovered records that shed light on the implementation and impact of the directive. #FoiaFriday THREAD 1/
We’ve uncovered records that shed light on the implementation and impact of the directive. #FoiaFriday THREAD 1/
Emails we obtained show Texas Dept. of Family & Protective Services leaders told staff not to communicate in writing about Gov. Abbott’s directive or the investigations, and that many staffers were concerned about the policy. 2/
americanoversight.org/texas-child-we…
americanoversight.org/texas-child-we…
“If you get any intakes regarding this issue, please immediately CALL ME to staff; no emails or texts are allowed,” a supervisor with Child Protective Investigations wrote in a February email. 3/
A #FOIAFriday 🧵
2 yrs ago this month, I obtained via FOIA the criminal referral the IG for the Intelligence Community sent to FBI related to Trump's phone call w/Ukraine’s Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky, a conversation that sparked impeachment proceedings
1/
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
2 yrs ago this month, I obtained via FOIA the criminal referral the IG for the Intelligence Community sent to FBI related to Trump's phone call w/Ukraine’s Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky, a conversation that sparked impeachment proceedings
1/
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
I sued CIA, ODNI and DOJ for a copy of the criminal referral on Trump. Although, ODNI turned over its copy, CIA issued me a GLOMAR and DOJ did not turn over its copy nor did it produce copy of any declination memo.
2/
2/
DOJ's explanation about its search for those records raised questions and so we challenged the integrity of its search for responsive records.
Last month, DOJ finally explained how it conducted the search & provided new details abt how it handled the Trump criminal referral
3/
Last month, DOJ finally explained how it conducted the search & provided new details abt how it handled the Trump criminal referral
3/
Governors in Florida, Texas, and Arizona have sent immigrants to states hundreds of miles away as part of exploitative political stunts. We’ve been investigating — here’s what we’ve uncovered so far. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
In September, the Florida DOT paid a company $615,000 to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard as part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-immigration ploy.
We obtained memos and other records detailing Florida’s agreement with the company.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
We obtained memos and other records detailing Florida’s agreement with the company.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
Other documents obtained by American Oversight and reported on by the Miami Herald revealed that DeSantis’ office appears to have been in contact with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office about the Sept. 14 flights.
americanoversight.org/desantis-offic…
americanoversight.org/desantis-offic…
So I’m a couple of days behind, but it’s ok because it’s now #FOIAFriday! Earlier this week, a new Midyear Exam drop was released on the FBI’s Vault. Let’s go through the 60+ pages of Part 48 of MYE. vault.fbi.gov/hillary-r.-cli…
First up, we have some notes from an interview of an unknown Secret Service agent on May 25, 2016. If you recall, the attachments to a 302 serial are called the “1A” file. As you can see from the first page, this would be MYE-302-093-1A76.
I’m not going to go deep into the notes themselves here, but @15poundstogo has some highlights in the attached tweet, and the comments below it look at some of the rest of the notes. You should go there and look through the discussion, then come back.
We’re working to shine a light on threats to election officials, voting restrictions, attacks on reproductive rights, and more.
Here’s a roundup of recent requests we’ve sent to local, state, and federal government agencies. #FoiaFriday
Here’s a roundup of recent requests we’ve sent to local, state, and federal government agencies. #FoiaFriday
Voting Rights: In September, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency opted to not adopt a plan that aimed to protect election workers from harassment.
We sent a #FOIA request to the agency for assessments and guidance related to this decision.
americanoversight.org/document/foia-…
We sent a #FOIA request to the agency for assessments and guidance related to this decision.
americanoversight.org/document/foia-…
A March survey found that the majority of polled local election officials felt that threats against them and their colleagues have increased in recent years.
We’ve requested records with the potential to shed light on the extent of and potential increase in these threats.
We’ve requested records with the potential to shed light on the extent of and potential increase in these threats.
