Election officials shouldn’t “blur the line between election administration and politicized law enforcement,” our Liz Hempowicz said. “This pattern risks turning baseless suspicion into policy and sweeping eligible voters into investigations they should never be part of.”
“Please be assured that my office is committed to full cooperation with the [DOJ] as it conducts its investigation,” Heap wrote in Sept. “We…will continue to work with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that no [2020 election] records are lost, compromised, or destroyed.”
The emails suggest Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap met with Arizona’s top federal prosecutor right before the DOJ told Maricopa County it would investigate.
www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026...
Arizona’s Maricopa County was central to conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Trump’s DOJ recently subpoenaed records to investigate Maricopa’s 2020 election — again.
Records we uncovered show a top county official was in contact with DOJ as it planned its probe.
“The American people have a right to know whether the President is asking the IRS to target taxpayers,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight.
Learn more about how we’re investigating the politicization of the IRS here:
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
Protect Democracy filed a FOIA request for records of any individuals or entities identified by the White House for potential audit or investigation.
The IRS denied the request so now we’re fighting for the documents in court.
Trump and senior officials have suggested that some universities and nonprofits should face scrutiny or lose their tax-exempt status based on their perceived political or ideological positions.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
NEW: We’re suing for records that could show if the White House has tried to pressure the IRS to target Trump’s perceived political opponents.
The IRS is dodging FOIA, so with @protectdemocracy.org, we’re going to court.
americanoversight.org/lawsuit-seek...
American Oversight released the following statement on the Trump administration’s indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Read the full statement:
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
At least 181 people have died in the Trump admin’s boat strikes in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean.
Last year, we sued to get the legal justifications for these strikes.
The administration still hasn’t provided them — and the death toll keeps climbing. americanoversight.org/american-ove...
Image of two Freedom of Information Act requests.
FBI Director Kash Patel has used the FBI jet to go on dates, a golf trip in Scotland, and the Olympics.
Each trip cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.
We’ve filed FOIAs for Patel’s flight logs and travel expenses — and any dissent memos about his travel.
“When the government builds vast systems like this in secret, the public has no way of knowing how that power is being used or who it is being used against,” said our Executive Director Chioma Chukwu.
These concerns are heightened by the government’s increasing use of Palantir tools in immigration crackdowns.
We’re suing for communications and contracts with Palantir, as well as policies and guidance related to how sensitive personal data is shared with it.
Our suit focuses on the CDC, DHS, ICE, the IRS, and Social Security Administration, all of which failed to respond to FOIAs about their use of Palantir tools.
We need to know how the government is using this data.
BREAKING: We’re suing the Trump administration for records that could show how the government is using Americans’ personal data through Palantir-built systems — and if there are any safeguards in place to stop it from being misused or compromised.
americanoversight.org/palantir-dat...
ICYMI: We went back in court seeking an emergency order to stop the White House from destroying documents.
Without urgent action, records showing what’s really happening in the Trump administration could be lost forever.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
Members of Georgia’s election board submitted a brief in support of the Trump admin’s election conspiracy theories, and may have broken the law to do so.
We need to know more.
Read about our next steps in this week’s newsletter:
americanoversight.org/newsletter/n...
Trump is pushing to expand voter ID laws, even though a prominent conservative org found voter fraud to be below 0.00003% in 2024.
That’s 1/3 as likely as being struck by lightning.
We’re using FOIA to learn more about who is advocating for these laws.
americanoversight.org/investigatio...
John Eastman, the Trump-allied lawyer behind the fake elector scheme, has been disbarred for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
We’ve uncovered details about Eastman’s connections to a nationwide network of election deniers:
americanoversight.org/in-the-docum...
The Presidential Records Act exists so Americans know how presidents use their power — but Trump’s DOJ claimed the law is unconstitutional.
We’re seeking urgent court action to stop the Trump admin from destroying important records.
More in our newsletter:
americanoversight.org/newsletter/n...
Image of a public records request.
1,500 people are reportedly still imprisoned under inhumane conditions at the Florida facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
We’ve sent public records requests for facility inspection reports to investigate conditions at this detention facility.
Public records can reveal what the government wants to hide and show discrepancies between the official narrative and the truth.
That’s how we found that ICE was responsible for the death of Ruben Ray Martinez.
We’re fighting for records like these every day.
www.npr.org/2026/04/15/n...
John Eastman, the Trump-allied lawyer behind the fake elector scheme, has been disbarred for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
We’ve uncovered details about Eastman’s connections to a nationwide network of election deniers:
americanoversight.org/in-the-docum...
Trump and his allies want to require voters to show documents proving their citizenship.
More than 20 million Americans lack easy access to those records.
We FOIAed to learn more about some of the election conspiracy theorists pushing for these laws.
americanoversight.org/investigatio...
NEW: We’re back in court seeking an emergency order to stop the White House from destroying documents, along with the American Historical Association.
Without urgent action, records showing what’s really happening in the Trump admin could be lost forever.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
Members of the Georgia State Election Board may have broken the law to file a brief supporting the Trump admin’s election conspiracy theories.
They owe the public, who they are supposed to serve, some answers.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
Trump’s tariffs raised the cost of groceries, toys, and diapers. Now, the war in Iran is raising the cost of gas and inflation is rising.
We’re tracking how Trump’s economic policies are hurting everyday Americans — and who they’re benefitting.
americanoversight.org/investigatio...
We’re demanding answers about the actions of 3 Georgia SEB members.
They filed a brief in support of the Trump admin’s continued efforts to undermine election results.
And they may have met in secret to do so, despite what the law says.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
The image shows the exterior of the National Archives building with large American flags hanging between the columns. A text overlay reads: "The AHA and American Oversight seek emergency court action to block Trump effort to evade Presidential Records Act."
Records that show how presidential decisions are made could be lost permanently.
These records are essential to understanding decision-making at the highest levels of government. The AHA and American Oversight have taken emergency legal action to protect them.
🔗 https://bit.ly/4ccLGzA
“These so-called wellness checks are a troubling expansion of the administration’s inhumane and abusive immigration policy that puts already vulnerable children and families in harm’s way,” our Executive Director Chioma Chukwu told Salon.
www.salon.com/2026/04/10/i...