Thread by @hansilowang

NEW: Trump's Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham tells @CommerceOIG that he has directed career employees to "stand down" and stop trying to produce a technical data report about noncitizens after whistleblowers raised concerns about data inaccuracy
census.gov/content/dam/Ce…

@CommerceOIG 2. Dillingham's memo replying to Commerce Dept Inspector General Peggy Gustafson provides the Census Bureau director's account of why he said the technical data report on noncitizens should be a "number one priority." My earlier reporting for background:
npr.org/2021/01/12/956…

@CommerceOIG 3. Before Trump put out the July 2020 memo calling for unauthorized immigrants to be omitted from apportionment counts, he put out this July 2019 executive order about using government records to produce data after losing the citizenship-question battle
whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…

@CommerceOIG 4. A lot of focus on Trump's July 2019 executive order was on data about U.S. citizens, but if you read the memo, you'll see it calls for using government records to produce counts of noncitizens, including unauthorized immigrants, too

https://twitter.com/hansilowang/status/1149515199260446721

@CommerceOIG 5. Dillingham tells @CommerceOIG that this technical data report on noncitizens was part of an effort to try to determine whether the records the bureau's gathered so far are "responsive" to Trump's July 2019 executive order and meet the Census Bureau's data quality standards.

@CommerceOIG 6. @CommerceOIG: "What are the purposes and intended uses for this report?"

Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham (referring to himself as "the Director"):

@CommerceOIG 7. @CommerceOIG: "Did you direct the production of this report based on the advice or an order from other persons or entities? If so, who?"

Dillingham (referring to himself as "the Director"):

@CommerceOIG 8. @CommerceOIG: "What was or were the reason(s) for the requested deadline of Friday, January 15, 2021, for the report? How did you determine that deadline?"

Dillingham:

@CommerceOIG 9. @CommerceOIG: "What is the current deadline for this report?"

@CommerceOIG 10. @CommerceOIG: "Do you intend to release this report before all business rules for data categorization are settled? If so, why?"

Dillingham: "No."

@CommerceOIG 11. @CommerceOIG: "Will this report be consistent with Bureau standards for data quality and integrity? If not, why not?"

Dillingham (referring to himself as "the Director"):

@CommerceOIG 12. @CommerceOIG: "Do you intend to release this report if it does not receive the usual and customary internal reviews and approvals? If so, why?"

Dillingham: "No."

@CommerceOIG 13. @CommerceOIG: "Why is the report 'a number one priority,' and, separately, who set the report as a priority for the Bureau?"

Dillingham (referring to himself as "the Director"):

@CommerceOIG 14. @CommerceOIG: "Are there other 'number one priorities' for the Bureau? If so, name them in order of importance, including this directive."

Dillingham:

@CommerceOIG 15. @CommerceOIG: "Has this directive taken staff off other priorities for the Bureau? If so, explain the impacts of any such shifts in resources."

Dillingham (referring to himself as "The Director"):

@CommerceOIG 16. @CommerceOIG: "What is the impact of the prioritization of the technical report on the timeline for completing the apportionment count? Please explain any such impact. If you believe there is no impact, please explain."

Dillingham (referring to himself as "The Director"):

@CommerceOIG 17. It's worth noting that @CommerceOIG Peggy Gustafson told Dillingham that after reviewing his written responses: "OIG will evaluate whether to interview you under oath regarding this and other relevant matters." This story is not over yet...

@CommerceOIG 18. Also worth noting given today's flurry of census-related headlines: Dillingham's reply to @CommerceOIG does *not* address bureau's work on Trump memo re: omitting unauthorized immigrants from apportionment counts.

I've confirmed the work has stopped:
npr.org/2021/01/13/956…