Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
American Oversight Profile picture
@weareoversight
Feb 16, 2022 • 13 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
A failed legal challenge led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton attempted to overturn the 2020 election results by invalidating results from four battleground states won by President Biden. Here’s what we’ve uncovered so far about Paxton’s lawsuit.
Paxton’s suit was thrown out by the Supreme Court within days, but not before it drew support from at least 125 Republican members of the House of Representatives, Trump himself, and the attorneys general of 17 other states.
axios.com/house-republic…
We filed open records requests in Texas and several other states that joined the suit to uncover more information about this authoritarian effort to thwart democracy.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Lawyers in the Florida Attorney General’s office called the lawsuit “bats--t insane” and “weird," records we obtained show.

On Dec. 8, Senior Deputy SG Christopher Baum wrote, “Bats–t insane, which is why Kyle [Texas’ solicitor general] is not on it.”
americanoversight.org/lawyers-in-flo…
Deputy AG James Percival asked, “What’s the theory for how one state has standing to allege Bush v. Gore violations against another state[?]”

“Because,” Baum replied.
Documents we previously obtained, reported on by @TPM, show South Carolina’s attorney general strategized with conservative lawyers on Paxton’s lawsuit.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/sc-ag-str…
The records indicate South Carolina AG Alan Wilson was in touch with Mark Martin, a former North Carolina chief justice and informal adviser to Donald Trump. Martin was reportedly part of the team that planned the lawsuit to overturn the election.
nytimes.com/2021/01/31/us/…
The documents also include communications between Wilson and Don Brown, an author and attorney who claimed to be working with pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell and Martin.
americanoversight.org/document/south…
On Dec. 3, Wilson told an attorney that he was having “constant conversions” with other attorney general offices and said he had received an “updated brief.” This is likely a reference to the Texas lawsuit. SC was one of 17 states to sign on to an amicus brief in support.
Other records we previously uncovered, also reported on by @TPM, show a draft of the lawsuit was circulated to the Louisiana AG’s office before it was filed.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/louisiana…
The version sent to the Louisiana AG’s office is very similar to the one filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on December 8, 2020.

But this version was intended to be filed by Louisiana and would sue over the results in 6 states instead of 4.
americanoversight.org/document/louis…
We also obtained communications between the attorney general’s office and lawyers who were connected to former President Donald Trump, including Kris Kobach.

In the emails, Kobach pressured Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office about the potential lawsuit.
This lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election was part of the “Big Lie” that the election was stolen through widespread voter fraud. It wasn’t — and we’re investigating those pushing this conspiracy theory. Learn more here:
americanoversight.org/investigation/…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with American Oversight

American Oversight Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @weareoversight

American Oversight Profile picture
Nov 21
We’re pleased that our lawsuit for records from the federal investigation of Matt Gaetz was a key part of the public pressure that led to his decision to withdraw from attorney general consideration.
americanoversight.org/statement-from…
Gaetz’s withdrawal is a clear indication that public demand for information and a transparent process will remain a powerful force for holding leaders accountable. Through our litigation, we will continue to demand answers about the alleged conduct of Mr. Gaetz.
Earlier this week, we filed a motion for preliminary injunction in our ongoing lawsuit for the release of interview records, known as “302s,” from the FBI’s investigation of Gaetz for serious criminal allegations, including sex trafficking of a minor.
documentcloud.org/documents/2534…
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
Oct 11
We recently launched an investigation into efforts to undermine direct democracy and sabotage abortion access ballot measures, which will be considered by voters in ten states this November. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Since 2022, 7 states have protected abortion rights through ballot initiatives.

In November, 10 states will have initiatives related to abortion rights on their ballots: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota.
In addition to a litany of lawsuits from conservative activists challenging the qualifying status of abortion-related ballot measures, legislators in many states have proposed laws that would change the requirements for ballot initiatives to make passage more difficult.
Read 12 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
Sep 9
Records we obtained from Missouri show how state Sen. Mike Moon — a staunchly anti-abortion rights legislator — has sought to subvert the state’s measure related to abortion rights by trying to amend the ballot initiative process.
americanoversight.org/document/recor…
Earlier this year, 380,000 Missourians signed a petition to put an abortion rights constitutional amendment on the ballot. In response, conservatives in the state pushed a bill that would have made it much harder to pass any constitutional amendment via a ballot initiative.
The documents show that Moon’s policy director directly tied Moon’s support for adding a concurrent majority measure to initiative petitions to his desire to defeat the measure. His chief of staff suggested collaborating with an anti-abortion rights group to defeat the amendment.
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
Sep 5
Floridians will vote in November on a ballot measure that would overturn the state’s six-week abortion ban.

Conservative lawmakers and interest groups have been working to make it harder for the measure and citizen initiatives like it to pass.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Republican officials drafted a financial statement to accompany the measure. The statement argues that the measure’s passage would lead to fewer births, which would hurt the state’s growth and revenue over time.
nbcmiami.com/news/local/fin…
The financial statement speculates that the measure’s passage would result in expensive litigation.

Abortion rights groups have filed lawsuits to prevent this language from appearing on the ballot.
Read 5 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
Aug 29
LITIGATION UPDATE: We reached a settlement in our lawsuit against Ohio Sec. of State Frank LaRose for records related to the 2023 decision to withdraw Ohio from the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nonpartisan voter-roll maintenance tool.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
ERIC was a non-controversial nonprofit that quietly helped states clean up their voter rolls by securely comparing voter data. A cascade of misinformation coordinated by anti-democratic activists, eventually led several states to withdraw.
Our investigation and the documents obtained as part of it show how election officials defended ERIC behind the scenes while publicly caving to a pressure campaign led by some of the same people who sought to keep former President Trump in power in 2020.
americanoversight.org/the-campaign-t…
Read 5 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
Jul 30
NEW: Today, the Georgia State Election Board withdrew rules it approved in a recent illegal meeting, which was held without proper notice of a quorum. We’d sued the Board for violating the state’s Open Meetings Act.
americanoversight.org/georgia-electi…
We’re pleased that our lawsuit, along with pressure from partner organizations on the ground in Georgia, has prompted the Board to withdraw the illegally approved rules from its sham July 12 meeting.
The board also announced plans to reconsider the rules at its Aug. 6 meeting. We remain deeply concerned by the Board’s decision to promptly revisit these problematic measures that serve to intimidate election workers and grant partisan advantage to preferred candidates.
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(