State governments are experiencing the crisis at different speeds, and reports have indicated that states are receiving unequal treatment. Why?

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News Roundup: Whose Stockpile, and Which States?
In this email:
* Investigating the latest Texas abortion ban attempt
* Judge orders OMB to conduct new records search in FBI headquarters investigation
* Launching our investigation into politicization of the 2020 census

According to President Donald Trump, the federal government is merely a “backup” for states wrestling with frightening shortages of medical equipment and protective gear. In fact, he contends, governors critical of the administration’s mismanaged response to the coronavirus pandemic are just “complainers” with “insatiable appetites.” ([link removed])
Of course, it shouldn’t be surprising that the president, who downplayed the crisis until just a few weeks ago, is once again avoiding taking responsibility. Two weeks ago, he famously told governors in need of ventilators, to save the lives of their residents, to “try getting it yourself.” ([link removed]) And it took him till last week to finally invoke the Defense Production Act ([link removed]) , which allows the administration to stimulate production of such essential equipment.

Despite Trump’s claims throughout February and early March that the coronavirus would be just like the seasonal flu, emails we obtained and published ([link removed]) earlier this week show that federal health officials at that time were increasingly concerned about the outbreak. “[W]e have a relatively narrow window and we are flying blind,” wrote one official on Feb. 28, around the same time the president was insisting the number of cases would be dropping shortly.

Meanwhile, state governments are approaching and experiencing the crisis at different, albeit intensifying, speeds, and news reports have indicated that states are receiving unequal treatment ([link removed]) in accessing federal resources ([link removed]) . One White House official even said that Florida’s electoral importance ([link removed]) added weight to the president’s considerations of the state’s needs. We filed a number of public records requests this week for communications between federal officials and governor’s offices in various states. Requests have gone
to California ([link removed]) and Ohio ([link removed]) , which have had more robust responses to the crisis; New York ([link removed]) , Michigan ([link removed]) and Washington ([link removed]) , which are currently experiencing more severe outbreaks; and Florida
([link removed]) and ([link removed]) Oklahoma ([link removed]) , two states with Trump-allied governors who have lagged behind in their responses. We’ve also requested the spreadsheet ([link removed]) , reportedly used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for tracking state requests and shipments, mentioned in this Washington Post article
([link removed]) .

We also filed dozens of other coronavirus-related requests this week, with a number of them focused on the pandemic’s effects on the most vulnerable, from those in public housing ([link removed]) to students affected by school closures ([link removed]) , to the millions of Americans ([link removed]) expected to lose workplace health-care coverage even as the Trump administration said it would not ([link removed]) , as it had previously considered, reopen HealthCare.gov for new enrollments.

Of course, the other side of the question of who will be most harmed is who most stands to gain. The president’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner ([link removed]) — who addressed the nation about coronavirus on Thursday evening, saying the federal stockpile ([link removed]) “was supposed to be our stockpile,” not the states’ — has reportedly taken a key role in the coronavirus response, and we want to know whether ([link removed]) his personal business interests ([link removed]) are also getting undue attention. We’ve asked for any briefing materials
([link removed]) agencies have prepared for him about the outbreak, and also filed a number of Freedom of Information Act requests to shed light on the Trump administration’s negotiations with drug companies involved in developing vaccines and treatments.

Other FOIA requests we've filed in the past week include:
* Intelligence reviews or materials ([link removed]) regarding coronavirus prepared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence or the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security;
* Oklahoma officials’ communications ([link removed]) related to the rush testing of multiple NBA players ([link removed]) three weeks ago;
* Commerce Department directives and communications ([link removed]) related to the implementation of the Defense Production Act (DPA);
* FEMA directives or assessments ([link removed]) for state governments, as well as related communications with other federal agencies;
* Any directives regarding messaging ([link removed]) or media appearances to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases;
* Homeland Security and State Department analyses of the effectiveness ([link removed]) of Trump’s March 11 ban ([link removed]) on travel from certain European countries; and
* Department of Education communications with Jerry Falwell Jr. or Liberty University, which reopened this week ([link removed]) to much criticism.

Plus, we’re investigating Texas’s attempt to temporarily ban abortion during the pandemic — read more below:

Investigating the latest Texas abortion ban attempt: Two weeks ago, Gov. Greg Abbott announced an executive order requiring health-care providers to postpone all procedures ([link removed]) — including abortions — “not immediately medically necessary.” A federal judge has temporarily stayed this order ([link removed]) until at least April 13, but we want to know how the governor ([link removed]) and Texas attorney general ([link removed]) arrived at their decision, including whether there was coordination with outside groups or
the federal government.

Judge orders OMB to conduct new records search in FBI headquarters investigation: For more than a year, we’ve been investigating the president’s interference in the decision ([link removed]) to rebuild the FBI headquarters at its existing location, which happens to sit just a few blocks from the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. We have a number of related lawsuits against the administration for records, including against the Office of Management and Budget, and this week a federal judge ([link removed]) found that OMB hadn’t conducted an adequate search for records, and ordered the agency to conduct a new search.

Launching our investigation into politicization of the 2020 census: This week, we provided an update on our investigation ([link removed]) into the rollout of the 2020 census, including the Trump administration’s failed effort to add a citizenship question. Among other requests, we’re seeking Census Bureau officials’ calendars ([link removed]) as well as their communications ([link removed]) with supporters of adding the question. We’ve also filed requests for communications ([link removed]) with representatives of the Republican National Committee, which in February sent out mailers
([link removed];) designed to look like official census documents. The Census Bureau delivers apportionment counts ([link removed]) to the president and Congress in December, so stay tuned.

“Farm Bailout” Finances: Since 2018, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided farmers $28 billion in aid ([link removed]) to soften the impact of Trump’s trade war with China. Critics of this “farm bailout” have raised questions about how the USDA is managing these funds, including how the agency handles subsidy authorizations and why payments have been made to foreign-owned corporations ([link removed]) . We asked the USDA ([link removed]) for records concerning this aid, including records reflecting meetings with or guidance from officials at the White House.

“Abortion Extremism”: In May 2019, FBI Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director Michael McGarrity testified before Congress that the FBI considered “abortion extremism ([link removed]) ” to be a form of domestic terrorism. More recently, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that “abortion violent extremism ([link removed]) ” is now included in the agency’s categorization of terrorism efforts. We’re asking the FBI ([link removed]) for communications containing key words related to abortion policy to shed light on the bureau’s decision.

Nigeria Travel Restrictions: In January, Trump added Nigeria to a list of countries whose citizens are banned from obtaining U.S. immigration visas. The Department of Homeland Security and State Department officials cited an elevated security risk ([link removed]) in justifying the new travel restrictions, contradicting a prior statement by a government official that the decision was related to cases of Nigerian nationals overstaying their visas. The New York Times reported that Nigerian officials were “blindsided ([link removed]) ” by the policy, in part because of the existing security and information-sharing practices between the two countries. We filed FOIA requests ([link removed]) with DHS and the State Department for records relating to these new travel
restrictions.

U.S. Attorney Resigns after Revoked Nomination: In February, former U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu resigned from the Treasury Department ([link removed]) after Trump withdrew her nomination ([link removed]) to serve as undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes. News reports suggest that Liu’s resignation and revoked nomination were related to Trump’s dissatisfaction ([link removed]) with her work at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, DC — specifically, Liu’s perceived lack of involvement ([link removed]) in politically sensitive investigations, including the cases of Trump ally Roger Stone and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
We filed requests with the Department of the Treasury for Liu’s resignation letter ([link removed]) , and to the Justice Department for communications ([link removed]) between Liu and White House officials.

Voting Restriction in Florida: For the past year, we’ve been following the progress of the restoration of voting rights ([link removed]) to individuals in Florida with prior felony convictions. This week, we filed public records requests ([link removed]) in multiple Florida counties for communications between election officials and voting-restriction activists or groups — some of which have advocated against returning voting rights to previously convicted Floridians. We’ve previously made similar requests in Texas and Georgia, and will continue to track ([link removed]) voting-restriction efforts across the country.

New Civil Rights Official at USDA: In March, Devon Westhill was sworn in as the Agriculture Department’s assistant secretary for civil rights. Westhill previously worked at the Department of Labor and is a contributor ([link removed]) to the Federalist Society. Last week, we asked both the Department of Agriculture ([link removed]) and the Department of Labor ([link removed]) for Westhill’s recent resume, as well as for any of his communications with conservative organizations, including the Federalist Society.
"Pairing history's most corrupt president with the $2 trillion response is a recipe for mismanagement and kleptocracy on a catastrophic scale. There is no doubt in my mind that the president’s response to coronavirus will require years of investigation after the fact. But every bit of oversight the public and the Congress can muster today could result in lives saved tomorrow."
- Executive Director, Austin Evers
Thanks to your support, and shared commitment to promoting accountability in government, American Oversight is able to continue to fight for open information and integrity under law.
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