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19 Jan, 8 tweets, 3 min read
As Covid-19 spread, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis opted for an open economy, opposed mask mandates, and took a hands-off approach to vaccination distribution. We’re investigating Florida officials’ mishandling of the coronavirus crisis.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Last July, Florida broke the nationwide record for most reported cases in a single day. Without an organized state response, cases continued to rise.
In November, as Florida approached 1 million cases, DeSantis again chose not to implement any statewide restrictions.
wsj.com/articles/as-co…
Florida’s vaccine rollout was marked by confusion and contradictory policies. Earlier this month, DeSantis incorrectly urged elderly Orlando residents to register — even though that hospital system had not yet opened up vaccinations to the public.
miamiherald.com/article2482976…
Once elderly residents were eligible, hundreds were turned away after they camped and waited for hours in an attempt to get the vaccine. At the same time, wealthy people were able to jump ahead in line.
washingtonpost.com/health/2021/01…
Amid this crisis, DeSantis and his office repeatedly obstructed information sharing. For months, DeSantis refused to make White House Coronavirus Task Force reports public. The state also hasn’t explained gaps in public Covid-19 data.
sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/fl…
In May 2020, a data scientist from the state’s health department was fired for what she said was her refusal to manipulate data; in December, her home was raided by armed police.
tallahassee.com/story/news/202…
We’re investigating Florida state officials’ handling of the pandemic, and we’ve requested DeSantis’ calendars and communications and other records related to the pandemic. Learn more here:
americanoversight.org/investigation/…

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More from @weareoversight

American Oversight Profile picture
19 Jan
Pres. Trump will leave office tomorrow but our investigations into the corruption that defined his presidency are far from over. Here’s what we’ve uncovered about Trump’s actions in office—& how we’re still working to hold Trump & his enablers accountable.
americanoversight.org/open-questions…
Trump’s Attacks on the Legitimacy of the Election: Trump’s attacks on the legitimacy of the 2020 election began long before he lost it. Once it was clear that President-elect Biden had won, Trump made wildly unfounded allegations about the election being rigged.
Trump’s efforts to delegitimize the election results culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. A violent and heavily armed mob of the president’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Five people were killed, including one Capitol Police officer.
Read 14 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
15 Jan
Even as Trump’s presidency sunsets, it’s still hard to tell how much money went from public coffers into his pockets. Here’s what we’ve learned about government spending at Trump properties after nearly 4 years of investigations:
americanoversight.org/tracking-taxpa…
Responses to our FOIA requests revealed that major federal agencies across the government lacked guidance for employees on spending taxpayer money at Trump properties. In practice, this ethical indifference has allowed public funds to enrich the president.
americanoversight.org/administration…
We uncovered that billionaire U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Woody Johnson paid £1,143 (about $1,500) for a single day of activities at Trump’s golf course in Scotland in July 2018.
scotsman.com/news/politics/…
Read 8 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
15 Jan
Missouri and Kansas Attorneys General Eric Schmitt and Derek Schmidt improperly used the authority of their offices to challenge the results of the 2020 election, framing it as an existential constitutional crisis, our @AREvers told the @KCStar.
kansascity.com/news/politics-…
Schmitt and Schmidt backed the extraordinary and baseless lawsuit that attempted to overturn the election results in several key states. “These were formal court documents that carried the veneer of legitimacy,” Evers said.
“They were insane legal documents pushing insane legal theories, where the only audience was the most extreme fringes of the Republican Party.”
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
15 Jan
In April 2020, Wisconsin was reporting hundreds of new Covid-19 cases every week and medical staff were in dire need of PPE.

We obtained emails from that time that reveal deep frustration with the Trump administration over PPE shortages. #FOIAFriday
americanoversight.org/wisconsin-offi…
On April 20, Maggie Gau, chief of staff to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, replied to a White House document touting the successes of Project Airbridge, the White House-led push to distribute and deliver medical supplies.
Writing to a staffer in VP Pence’s office, Gau said, “It is frustrating and disingenuous to assert that millions of PPE supplies are being delivered to the State of Wisconsin when we have not received the supplies we have repeatedly requested.”
Read 10 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
14 Jan
Today’s DOJ IG report means very little to the families that were torn apart in 2018, or to the 628 children that still have not been reunited with their parents. They bore the inhumane brunt of the Trump administration’s failures.
The report underscores and confirms the evidence developed by us and others over the last few years. When you combine zealous cruelty and bumbling bureaucratic competence, you get inhumane, tragic results.
Our May 2020 report found the administration failed to take any reasonable steps to prepare to execute its plans. And now, the Department of Justice has reached the same conclusion.
americanoversight.org/chaos-confusio…
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
14 Jan
A new DOJ IG report says Trump DOJ officials pushed the “zero tolerance” immigration policy while knowing it would lead to family separations.

We obtained a Jan. 2018 DHS memo listing problems with the “pilot” program.

A “Negative impact” listed: “Permanent family separation.”
Read more about the DOJ IG’s report here:
huffpost.com/entry/jeff-ses…

The 2018 memo also listed “New populations of U.S. orphans” under a section titled “problematic outcomes.”
The memo was based on DHS Civil Rights/Civil Liberties office’s investigation of 27 of the 950 “family separation matters” the office had received since 2016.

It cited problems with:
-“inconsistent, inaccurate, or no record-keeping for all arriving family members” in DHS systems
Read 5 tweets

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