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20 Oct, 4 tweets, 2 min read
On October 6, President Trump tweeted that he “fully authorized the total declassification” of documents connected to the Russia investigation.

Now, Trump’s chief of staff signed a sworn declaration that the president said he didn’t mean it.

buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
After the Oct. 6 tweets, Buzzfeed News filed 3 emergency motions to release the Russia-related documents it had FOIA’d. The federal judge presiding over the cases ordered DOJ to get a declaration from Trump clarifying his intent.
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
This is the latest instance of the president’s tweets sowing confusion or controversy. Such posts are often depicted as “rogue” statements. DOJ has previously argued that both that his tweets are presidential actions and that they are not.
reuters.com/article/legal-…
Documents we recently obtained show that sometimes the president’s tweets are vetted through a government agency and that agencies sometimes know about the statements in advance.

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More from @weareoversight

American Oversight Profile picture
22 Oct
In May, President Trump fired then-State Dept. Inspector General Linick, reportedly at the request of Sec. of State Mike Pompeo.

We obtained new emails related to Linick’s firing that shed new light on who at State was involved.

americanoversight.org/document/state… Image
Around 6:45 PM on May 15, 2020—a few hours before @politico first reported on Linick’s firing—James Bacon, an aide to Trump’s controversial director of presidential personnel, responded to an email about “IG” from Nilda Pedrosa, then the White House liaison to State. Image
Later that night, Pedrosa forwarded the email to two of Pompeo’s top aides: Brian Bulatao and Ulrich Brechbuhl. Brechbuhl also re-forwarded some redacted content on the IG on both Friday night and Saturday.
Read 6 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
21 Oct
We obtained nearly 400 pages of Mike Pompeo’s personal emails from his time as CIA director.

These records reveal a problematic amount of official business conducted over private email and show Pompeo fielding questionable investigation requests.
americanoversight.org/pompeos-use-of…
The emails also include multiple indications of Mike Pompeo’s wife Susan Pompeo’s engagement with CIA officials during his tenure as director, adding to public reporting of her extensive and potentially inappropriate level of involvement at both the CIA & State.
Throughout his time as director, Pompeo appears to have regularly received official schedules at his personal email account — an unusual arrangement for high-level government officials, who generally have access to government systems at their home offices and on work phones. ImageImageImageImage
Read 5 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
20 Oct
We obtained documents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that add further detail to the deaths of two people detained at the border: Jakelin Caal Maquin and Felipe Gómez Alonzo.

americanoversight.org/document/ice-e…
Customs and Border Protection produced reports and documentation relevant to deaths in DHS custody that were used as briefing materials in preparation for the Mar. 6, 2019 House Homeland Security Committee hearing, "The Way Forward on Border Security."
These materials Included Incident Reports completed by the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility in response to the deaths of Jakelin Caal Maquin & Felipe Gomez Alonzo.
Read 5 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
19 Oct
Breaking: The Office of Special Counsel confirmed that it will open a case file to address the complaint we submitted last week calling for an urgent investigation into whether Sec. of State Pompeo’s rush to release Clinton’s emails before the election violates the Hatch Act.
On October 8, President Trump publicly criticized Pompeo for not ensuring that Hillary Clinton’s emails were released. The next day, Pompeo said that State would work to release more info from the emails “before the election,” strongly suggesting his intent to sway voters.
While Pompeo committed to release this info in a matter of weeks, State has consistently maintained that it is largely unable to process FOIA requests because of the pandemic. This contradiction seemingly reveals the underlying political motivations.
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
19 Oct
When confirmed as Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross pledged to divest millions in assets, but the billionaire failed to fully comply.

Documents we obtained show Ross held meetings with Railway Security Alliance representatives while still owning stock in a related company.
Ross did not fully divest from Greenbriar Companies, a member of RSA, until December 2017.

Ross met with RSA on May 17, 2017.

americanoversight.org/document/comme…
We also obtained Commerce emails and calendar entries regarding a series of meetings Ross had with former Treasury Sec. Hank Paulson.

Read the records here:
americanoversight.org/document/comme…
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
16 Oct
As the weather cools, many experts predict Covid-19 cases will begin to rise — and as the pandemic continues, we are still investigating the government’s response to it.

For #FOIAFriday, we’re highlighting our Covid-19 Oversight Hub and what we’ve uncovered so far.
First, the Covid-19 outbreak at the White House. Earlier this month, President Trump tested positive for Covid-19. After 3 days at Walter Reed, Trump — still contagious— returned to the White House, where lax safety measures had recently led to an outbreak.
Questions remain about that outbreak, from how it began to how the administration is tracing those infected, and about how forthcoming the government has been about the president’s condition and when he first contracted the virus.
Read 14 tweets

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