Today is my last day on the @washingtonpost national political enterprise & accountability team. I joined the team in 2017 after fangirling from afar, and will remain the team's #1 fan. Eternally grateful for my teammates, their generosity & friendship. 💕
Thank you @mateagold@thamburger@anu_narayan, who taught me everything in know on the money beat. When I first started the beat, everyone told me I had huge shoes to fill after Matea & Tom. I never forgot that and did my best to live up to even a portion of their great work!
Huge thank you to my editors @mateagold & @sandhyawp, who are among the kindest and hardest-working people I know. I’ve grown so much working with them, and will really miss them. 💫
Starting next week I'm joining @PeterFinnWP's national security team for a few months, before heading to Tokyo in the summer. Wish me luck & send me story ideas!
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
NEW: We contacted 22 states where state and local agencies paid for security, property repair & legal defense as a result of Trump's lie that the election was stolen.
Of the $519M+, the biggest chunk of taxpayer money spent is $480M in estimated military expenses to deploy thousands of National Guard troops around DC amid fears of additional extremist violence stemming from Trump's falsehoods. washingtonpost.com/politics/inter…
Many of the agencies in 22 states we contacted couldn't provide a breakdown yet, cuz they're still trying to tally the cost of rapidly scaling up security to deal with the increased threat of violence from Trump supporters. We'll update as we hear back. washingtonpost.com/politics/inter…
After calls from GA state election officials imploring GOP leaders to de-escalate rhetoric, Trump ally/attorney Lin Wood and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell are holding a "Stop the Steal" rally attacking Kemp, Raffensperger, Sterling and Lt. Gov. Duncan.
Lin Wood references MLK to say he is encouraging nonviolent protests, then calls on the cheering rally attendees to drive to Gov. Kemp’s house, circle it, honk their horns until he calls a special session, then make him resign, and then “lock him up.” Crowd chants "lock him up."
Lin Wood now attacks DOJ, FBI, CIA: "You work for us, Attorney General Barr. Do your job. ... Investigate this fraud."
Crowd chants, “Do your job”
Incredible to watch GA Secretary of State's voter information manager Gabriel Sterling meticulously correcting every piece of misinformation and even misunderstandings -- including that GA "suddenly flipped" from R to D. gpb.org/events/news/20…
"We are going to find that people did illegally vote. That’s going to happen," as it happens in every election, Sterling says. "Is it 10,353? Unlikely," he says, referring to Biden's margin over Trump in Georgia.
Final tally of GA military/overseas ballot: 18,407 accepted, and 7,786 not returned in time. Sterling disagrees with Trump's tweet that those unreturned ballots are "missing," noting that they are ballots that voters decided not to return, or were delayed in the mail.
Minneapolis resident Stephanie Wilford, at high risk for covid-19, planned to vote by mail for Tuesday's election. But as of Friday, she didn't get her ballot and she'll now vote in person:
“I’m pissed off. We’re not getting mail for some reason.” washingtonpost.com/politics/minne…
Mail problems at this Minneapolis complex provides an early look at the kind of problems that could enmesh voters nationwide in November, when an influx of absentee ballots and high turnout are expected to collide with a potential surge of covid cases. washingtonpost.com/politics/minne…
NEW: Postal Service is experiencing days-long backlogs across the country after a top Trump donor running the agency put in new procedures. Workers warn it could undermine their ability to deliver ballots on time for November. W/@jacobbogage washingtonpost.com/politics/posta…
“I’m a little frightened. By the time political season rolls around, I shudder to think what it’s going to look like,” said a postal employee in Pennsylvania. washingtonpost.com/politics/posta…
Voters and postal workers have reported scattered problems across the country in recent days, including in key battleground states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania. “I need to make sure my vote is counted,” a Wisconsin voter said. washingtonpost.com/politics/posta…
This chaotic and painful weekend, so many @aaja members are doing great reporting on the protests across the country. Thank you for your journalism and please stay safe. Sharing some of #AAJAfamily's work below: