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26 Mar, 7 tweets, 3 min read
#FOIA is a powerful tool for investigating influence and access at the highest levels of government. News reports indicated that top Trump admin. officials in charge of the Covid-19 response were providing inside access to well-connected companies. #FOIAFriday
We filed FOIAs for communications of senior HHS officials — and we found emails between
former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and then-HHS Sec. Azar in March 2020.
americanoversight.org/in-march-2020-…
Nielsen recommended that in its pandemic response, HHS work with a private company that had previously participated in a 2019 DHS pilot program to test immigrants’ DNA.
Nielsen emailed Azar in March 2020 to pitch a corporation specializing in rapid DNA technology. Nielsen wrote, “I know about them b/c I had hoped we could deploy rapid DNA technology on our southern border for a variety of reasons.”
During her tenure as secretary of homeland security, Nielsen enforced family separation at the border. We previously outlined her role in the policy.
Since the start of the pandemic, our investigations and other public reporting have shown how private companies had privileged access to top Trump White House officials, allowing them to get their foot in the door and insert themselves into the response.
americanoversight.org/one-year-of-th…
These communications show that the testing company, which has existing ties to the Department of Homeland Security, was among the companies promoted by top officials.

Learn more about our related investigations here:
americanoversight.org/areas_of_inves…

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More from @weareoversight

American Oversight Profile picture
26 Mar
Last July, we obtained a State Department whistleblower complaint revealing an ongoing inquiry into “questionable activities” of former Secretary Mike Pompeo.

Both the State Dept. & CIA are withholding records related to their IGs investigating complaints about Pompeo’s conduct.
Steve Linick, the State Department inspector general, was fired in May 2020. We received emails from State suggesting that the firing was directly tied to a request from Pompeo.
americanoversight.org/document/state…
Now, State is withholding in full 9 pages of Linick’s emails regarding complaints about Pompeo’s misconduct.
americanoversight.org/document/no-re…
Read 5 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
25 Mar
Donald Trump's former DHS chief just launched a consulting firm. Records and reporting show that Chad Wolf played a key role in implementing some of the Trump administration's cruelest and most undemocratic policies, including family separation.
americanoversight.org/chad-wolfs-leg…
On Tuesday, @Politico reported that Wolf—who served as DHS chief of staff while the department was systematically separating families, & who was acting secretary as Trump increasingly weaponized DHS for his political aims—is starting a DC consulting firm.
politico.com/news/2021/03/2…
In a September 2020 congressional hearing, Wolf denied that he helped to develop the policy that led to the separation of thousands of migrant families, saying that it “was not my portfolio” and “was not my issue set at that time.”
borderreport.com/politics/actin…
Read 9 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
25 Mar
Former President Trump’s combative relationships with multiple state leaders led to significant breakdowns in state and federal coordination, exacerbating the problems created by the administration’s hands-off approach.
americanoversight.org/one-year-of-th…
We received documents from Illinois, Washington state, and Wisconsin that showed state officials struggled to coordinate with the White House and federal agencies in the spring of 2020, when states were in desperate need of PPE and medical supplies.
americanoversight.org/more-documents…
During these early months, congressional delegations from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin wrote to health agencies and the White House requesting assistance in filling their states' PPE requests.
baldwin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/…
Read 6 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
24 Mar
From the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Trump administration resisted creating a unified response, interfered with the key decisions at the nation’s top scientific agencies, and gave special treatment to private companies.
In the last year, news outlets, watchdog groups, and federal oversight agencies have investigated these missteps.

Here’s what we’ve learned so far.
americanoversight.org/one-year-of-th…
Government watchdogs have tracked the federal response, releasing key reports that shine light on multiple failings.
Read 6 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
24 Mar
Right-wing elected officials across the country are working to narrow access to our democracy or to use public office to serve the few.

Here are some of the latest threats to democracy in Florida, Georgia, Texas, and more.
Conservative Florida lawmakers have advanced a bill that would make voting by mail harder and would ban ballot drop boxes — despite some of those same lawmakers’ public acknowledgment that the 2020 election went smoothly. #flpol
heraldtribune.com/story/news/pol…
Those efforts to limit democratic participation are being matched in dozens of other states. Texas Republicans are rolling out a slew of bills limiting early voting and tightening ID requirements. #TXleg
nbcnews.com/politics/elect…
Read 7 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
23 Mar
Nationwide, right-wing lawmakers are pushing new restrictions on voting and democracy.

We’ve been investigating attacks on voting rights for over two years, and we’re expanding that work now. Here’s what we’re up to in Arizona. #AZpol
americanoversight.org/jurisdiction/a… Image
The 2020 election saw record turnout despite a deadly pandemic, thanks to increased access to absentee voting. In response, some Arizona lawmakers have introduced a slew of bills that could make it harder for citizens to exercise their right to vote. americanoversight.org/investigation/…
These efforts include many restrictions on early and absentee voting. For example, SB 1069 would purge names of people who don’t vote frequently from the state’s permanent early voting list, which determines who automatically receives a ballot by mail.
Read 10 tweets

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