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Nov 18 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
Governors in Florida, Texas, and Arizona have sent immigrants to states hundreds of miles away as part of exploitative political stunts. We’ve been investigating — here’s what we’ve uncovered so far. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/investigation/… Image
In September, the Florida DOT paid a company $615,000 to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard as part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-immigration ploy.

We obtained memos and other records detailing Florida’s agreement with the company.
americanoversight.org/american-overs… Image
Other documents obtained by American Oversight and reported on by the Miami Herald revealed that DeSantis’ office appears to have been in contact with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office about the Sept. 14 flights.
americanoversight.org/desantis-offic…
At some point between Sept. 1 and Sept. 19, DeSantis’ chief of staff, James Uthmeier, shared with Abbott’s chief of staff, Luis Saenz, the contact information of Larry Keefe, DeSantis’ “public safety czar,” who Uthmeier said was the point of contact. Image
Text messages released this week provided further indications that Florida officials coordinated with Texas agencies. They also showed the significant role played by Perla Huerta, who reportedly recruited the migrants.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
There’s more. We obtained 1,341 pages of situation reports, post-transportation event reports, and a passenger data spreadsheet reflecting information from May 9 to Sept. 19 related to Arizona’s migrant busing program. Explore the records here:
americanoversight.org/document/arizo… Image
We’ve also filed requests for memos, directives, communications, contracts, & other documents about the migrant transportation programs from the Florida, Texas, & Arizona governor’s offices, as well as other state agencies. Follow our investigation here:
americanoversight.org/investigation/…

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More from @weareoversight

American Oversight Profile picture
Nov 17
NEW: We’re suing the IRS for communications of Trump political appointees regarding former FBI director James Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe.

Trump reportedly said he wanted the IRS to investigate his perceived enemies, including Comey and McCabe.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump sought to weaponize the federal government against his rivals. Americans should know whether any of his alleged demands reached his appointees at the IRS — and if so, how they responded.
On Monday, the @nytimes reported that John Kelly — Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff — said Trump had repeatedly told him he wanted the IRS to investigate a number of his perceived foes, including Comey and McCabe.
nytimes.com/2022/11/13/us/…
Read 4 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
Nov 11
We’re working to shine a light on threats to election officials, voting restrictions, attacks on reproductive rights, and more.

Here’s a roundup of recent requests we’ve sent to local, state, and federal government agencies. #FoiaFriday
Voting Rights: In September, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency opted to not adopt a plan that aimed to protect election workers from harassment.

We sent a #FOIA request to the agency for assessments and guidance related to this decision.
americanoversight.org/document/foia-…
A March survey found that the majority of polled local election officials felt that threats against them and their colleagues have increased in recent years.

We’ve requested records with the potential to shed light on the extent of and potential increase in these threats.
Read 9 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
Nov 9
Some Arizona leaders are spreading false or misleading info after some vote tabulation machines temporarily stopped accepting ballots in Maricopa County. The problem was soon resolved — but we’ve seen unfounded claims of fraud weaponized before. THREAD
Maricopa County was the center of the Arizona “audit” of the 2020 election. Our investigation revealed that the “audit” was a biased exercise driven by conspiracy theories and heavily influenced by partisan actors.
Before conspiracy theories about Maricopa County start spreading again, here’s a look back at what happened last time, and what we found.
Read 15 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
Nov 4
A nationwide network of Trump-allied conspiracy theorists and voter-fraud alarmists have led efforts to sow distrust in U.S. elections.

We’ve obtained documents that provide snapshots of this network’s work in Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire, & New Mexico.
americanoversight.org/in-the-documen…
Many of those efforts took cues from the Arizona Senate’s sham “audit” of Maricopa County’s election, or relied on the same conspiracy theories and unsupported claims underpinning that effort.
New Hampshire: In March 2021, a conservative activist attempted to recruit prominent election deniers Phil Waldron and Russ Ramsland to conduct an election audit in a small town.
Read 5 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
Nov 4
Trump-allied activists worked to undermine faith in the 2020 election results.

Experts have warned that election deniers will employ the same tactics in future elections to discredit the vote; here’s what we’ve learned about this anti-democracy playbook.
Despite failed legal challenges and sham investigations that found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, a network of activists and groups is pushing to discredit U.S. electoral systems and foster mistrust in the democratic process.
While these efforts failed to undo the 2020 election, they have succeeded in radicalizing supporters, spreading doubt in our democracy, spurring threats against election workers, and emboldening politicians to cry “voter fraud” when they don’t like the results.
Read 14 tweets
American Oversight Profile picture
Oct 28
The Arizona Senate’s election “audit” was led and encouraged by people with a political interest in finding evidence of wrongdoing or voting irregularities. That predetermined conclusion was the goal, and the “audit” was tainted by that bias. #FoiaFriday
Partisan actors operating under the (false) assumption that voter fraud occurred in Maricopa County and elsewhere were involved at nearly every stage of the “audit” process.
Early communications we obtained reveal that Senate President Karen Fann and others were in frequent contact with these election deniers, and messages suggest that Fann was sympathetic to calls for the election to be overturned because of alleged fraud.
Read 12 tweets

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