In July, the right wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) held an invitation-only “academy” for state lawmakers. Attendees reportedly discussed “what states have done to improve election integrity,” a phrase synonymous with limiting voting rights.
The “academy” was held before ALEC’s annual meeting at a five-star hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. ALEC provided participants two nights of accommodations, five meals, and $450 for travel reimbursement. exposedbycmd.org/2021/07/26/dar…
To investigate, we sent records requests regarding state legislators who attended: Ariz. Rep. Vince Leach, Fla. Rep. Daniel Perez, Idaho Sen. Mary Souza, W. Va. Sen. Patricia Rucker, Texas Rep. Phil King, Ohio Rep. Bill Seitz, Mo. Rep. Justin Hill, and Maine Sen. Trey Stewart.
We asked for:
-handouts, agendas, presentation materials, summaries, or notes taken by the legislators
-any model legislation distributed
-emails or calendar invites between the legislators and ALEC or the Honest Elections Project
-and more. americanoversight.org/document/recor…
We submitted these requests as part of our investigation into efforts to limit voting rights, and we’ll post what we learn. Learn more about our ongoing investigation here: americanoversight.org/investigation/…
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BREAKING: The Dane County Circuit Court has ordered the Wisconsin Assembly and Speaker Robin Vos to turn over certain records related to their partisan election investigation within 10 days. americanoversight.org/court-orders-r…
On Oct. 8, we sued the Wisconsin Assembly & Speaker Vos for these records. Within a few hours, the judge ordered the defendants to release records within 30 days or show cause why they could or would not. Today, the judge found their reasons insufficient. americanoversight.org/court-orders-w…
Speaker Vos and the Wisconsin Assembly launched their partisan election review back in May. In June they contracted with former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman and several retired police officers to conduct the review.
While Nielsen previously tried to distance herself from the family-separation policy, documents we uncovered through FOIA show her involvement.
On March 3, 2017, Reuters reported that the administration was considering a family-separation proposal. An unidentified person emailed the story to the DHS budget director: “I would be truly grateful if you could tell me this isn’t being seriously considered.”
NEW: We obtained more records from the Arkansas National Guard regarding the deployment of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. The records show the political stunt has cost Arkansas taxpayers an estimated $503,159.64. americanoversight.org/document/dod-r…
The FBI spent $2,600 at Trump National Doral — the Florida resort owned by former President Donald Trump — over six stays in 2018 and 2019, documents we obtained and @Z_Everson reported on show. forbes.com/sites/zachever…
For each of the six stays, the FBI paid Doral the maximum the government allowed, with nightly rates ranging from $119 to $176.
In 2019, Eric Trump said the Trump Organization only charged taxpayers “like 50 bucks” a night for U.S. government stays.
”It’s disappointing that the pressure to funnel taxpayer money to President Trump’s businesses extended even to the rank and file of the FBI,” said our executive director @AREvers.
The Post’s report breaks down what happened before, during, and after the deadly attacks. Across the country, supporters of Donald Trump were pressuring local and state officials to contest the election results, often in collaboration with Trump’s allies.
Records we obtained show that after a constituent pressured Arizona Senate President Karen Fann to investigate the results, Fann responded, “It’s pretty apparent you don’t know everything that is going on.”
Recent reporting has documented the presence of far-right militia members at the Jan. 6 attack and has led to increased scrutiny of the reach — including within government — of groups like the Oath Keepers. Here’s what you should know. americanoversight.org/news-roundup-j…
Edward Durfee Jr., an Oath Keeper who was at the riot, is running for a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly. He heads his town’s Republican committee. nytimes.com/2021/10/27/nyr…