We sued the DOJ and the FBI for any records of interviews with Donald Trump in connection with the government’s investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
americanoversight.org/american-overs… The FBI previously refused to confirm whether records of interviews with Trump exist. We filed suit amid continued revelations about Trump’s connections to Epstein — including reports that the president’s name appeared repeatedly in internal government reviews of related records.

The DeSantis administration has turned an airfield in the Everglades into a detention center cruelly dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

We filed a suite of public records requests to investigate.

Trump wants to deport 1 million people annually.

But with limited immigration detention capacity, the administration is scrambling to find more places to detain people.

The Trump admin. has taken aim at public education. But the far-right incursion into public schools has been happening at the state level for years — especially in Florida.

Here’s what we’ve uncovered about the harmful effects of Gov. DeSantis’ education policies. In 2022, Florida adopted a slew of laws upending public education by mandating reviews of books for prohibited content, allowing parents greater ability to challenge classroom lessons, and barring instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity for certain grade levels.

The public’s right to know is under unprecedented threat. For years, we’ve remained steadfast in our commitment to exposing the truth and protecting public access to information so that the people can hold government accountable.
americanoversight.org/celebrating-am… Since last year’s Sunshine Week, we have had several victories for transparency at both the national and state level.

In May, an appeals court ruled in our favor in a years-old case regarding the release of records about 2017 efforts to weaken the ACA.
americanoversight.org/democracy-forw…

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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

NEW: We sued the Georgia State Election Board for violating the state’s Open Meetings Act after it held a meeting on July 12 — in which it pushed forward controversial new election rules — without legally required public notice or a quorum.
americanoversight.org/american-overs… Georgia’s Open Meetings Act and others like it are vital to a functioning democracy by helping ensure official actions are conducted in full view of the public. Attempts to maneuver around it to advance changes to Georgia’s election rules are a clear violation of this law.

We obtained emails between top Trump administration DHS officials and Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of the Supreme Court justice.

The emails show Thomas sharing election conspiracies in the days before the 2020 election.
americanoversight.org/document/dhs-c…
On Oct. 28, 2020 — less than a week before the election — Ginni Thomas sent more than a dozen links to a Google Group called “20024.” “[Redacted] asked me for links we have all been sharing about the coming insurrection, chaos, and violence,” she wrote.

The “constitutional sheriffs” movement is a fringe theory that holds that sheriffs have more law enforcement power in their home counties than any other government body or individual. The movement has brought its work to the election denial space.
theguardian.com/us-news/2024/a… “Nothing is more dangerous to our democracy than a movement based on election lies promoted by radical law enforcement officials who falsely believe they are the ultimate authority, including on matters of election administration,” our Chioma Chukwu told the Guardian.

It’s #SunshineWeek, a week that celebrates & promotes access to information and open government nationwide.

Today, we’re highlighting the power of #FOIA with a thread about its past, present, and future. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed FOIA into law on July 4, 1966. Records show LBJ personally removed strong language supporting open government from the press statement. He only agreed to sign it after DOJ suggested he include a signing statement.
nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/…

Yesterday, D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments on presidential immunity in Trump’s election interference case.

Judges questioned both sides about our amicus brief arguing the D.C. Circuit lacks jurisdiction to hear Trump’s appeal on his immunity claims. Here’s what that’s about: In Trump’s federal election interference case, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that Trump is not entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution. Trump appealed the ruling, hoping to delay the trial set for March.

As we approach the anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, former President Trump faces criminal charges for attempting to subvert the election. An amicus brief we filed in this case could thwart his effort to delay his trial until after this year’s election.
latimes.com/opinion/story/… In the election interference case, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that Trump is not entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution. Trump appealed that ruling, hoping to delay the trial set for March.

For more than a year, we’ve been investigating how the election denial movement led several states to leave ERIC, a nonpartisan organization that helps maintain up-to-date voting lists.

Here’s what our investigation uncovered. #FoiaFriday
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
The same people who tried to overturn the 2020 election worked behind the scenes to influence the ERIC exodus by promoting false claims and conspiracy theories — priming states for post-election chaos that could be used to deny election results in 2024.
americanoversight.org/the-right-wing…

Jared Kushner and Steve Mnuchin secured billions in investments from Middle East nations after leaving the Trump administration. We obtained travel records related to their trips to Persian Gulf states in the final weeks of the admin. #FoiaFriday Documents released through our ongoing lawsuit against the Treasury Department and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation include flight itineraries, travel authorizations, and expense records from three separate trips.

The effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election was built on a decades-long campaign by conservative activists and lawmakers. Here’s a look at this activism prior to the 2020 election and how the “voter fraud” narrative was built. #FoiaFriday In the last two decades, a robust “election integrity” movement has grown out of a conservative backlash. Activists have long used overblown claims about fraud to justify voting restrictions aimed at ensuring a conservative electorate.

We previously obtained emails between top Trump administration DHS officials and Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of the Supreme Court justice.

The emails show Thomas sharing conspiracy theories in the days before the 2020 election.
americanoversight.org/document/dhs-c…
On Oct. 28, 2020 — less than a week before the election — Ginni Thomas sent more than a dozen links to a Google group. “[Redacted] asked me for links we have all been sharing about the coming insurrection, chaos, and violence,” she wrote.

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Vos created a secret panel to advise on the potential impeachment of state Supreme Court Justice Protasiewicz.

We filed a complaint with the Dane County DA alleging the secret panel violates the state’s Open Meetings Law. #FoiaFriday The complaint asks the district attorney to void any actions of the panel that did not comply with the Open Meetings Law and take steps to prevent further meetings.
americanoversight.org/complaint-agai…