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Nothing’s Spookier than Government Secrecy
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President Donald Trump and his administration have made repeated efforts to keep key information secret since returning to the White House, despite claiming dedication to transparency ([link removed]) . That’s why American Oversight has filed hundreds of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests this year, seeking public information about the administration’s actions, goals, and influences.

This week, we brought suit in cases where the government has not disclosed information that Americans need.


** Election Denier Heather Honey in Lead ‘Election Integrity’ Role at DHS
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) have failed to answer FOIA requests about Heather Honey, an election-denial activist who Trump recently appointed as the agency’s deputy assistant secretary for elections integrity.

This week, we sued DHS and USCIS ([link removed]) to demand transparency about Honey’s appointment, calendars, and communications, including with other known election deniers.

Transparency about Honey’s appointment and tenure is key to understanding who is tasked with overseeing our election infrastructure. Honey’s actions have already alarmed and confused many election officials: She reportedly ([link removed]) repeated rhetoric associated with baseless claims of widespread voter fraud during a recent official DHS meeting. Before her appointment to DHS, Honey suggested ([link removed]) that the Trump administration could declare a “national emergency” to impose new rules on state and local election officials — a move she said could be justified by an “actual investigation” into the 2020 election if it revealed “manipulation” of the vote.

The records at issue in our lawsuit could show how Trump and his allies intend to undermine, and potentially subvert, the security of future elections.

Our previous investigations have helped shed light on Honey’s involvement in the election-denial movement and her outreach to state officials advancing baseless claims about voter fraud.
* Honey was involved ([link removed]) in Arizona’s notorious “audit” ([link removed]) of the 2020 election ([link removed]) , after which she distorted ([link removed]) voter data to advance unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.
* She founded ([link removed]) Haystack Investigations, a firm subcontracted by Cyber Ninjas — the lead contractor responsible for the Arizona Senate GOP’s partisan “audit ([link removed]) ” of the 2020 elections (read more about our related investigations here ([link removed]) ).
* We also previously obtained records revealing Honey’s role in the effort to dismantle ([link removed]) the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).


** What Information Is Behind the Trump Administration’s “Voter Maintenance” Systems?
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We teamed up with Campaign Legal Center to file lawsuits against DHS, USCIS, and the Social Security Administration (SSA) this week, for information about the Trump administration’s “voter maintenance” work.

Under the Trump administration, DHS’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system has evolved into a federal voter data system that uses various sources to flag potential noncitizens on state voter rolls —– changes that could be used to justify large-scale voter purges and disenfranchise eligible voters.

So-called “noncitizen voting” is incredibly rare ([link removed]) , and falsehoods about noncitizen voting can result in voter suppression ([link removed]) and increased doubts in election results. “The impact will fall hardest on those already forced to fight for access to the ballot — Black, brown, immigrant, low-income, disabled, and young voters — under the false banner of ‘fraud prevention,’” said Chioma Chukwu, executive director at American Oversight. “The public has a right to know what this system is, what data is being used, and whether proper safeguards are in place to protect voters. Transparency is essential to protecting the integrity of our elections and combating dangerous voter fraud conspiracies intended to disenfranchise marginalized communities.”

The administration has offered virtually no explanation for how the system operates or how it plans to protect voters’ rights, including data privacy. Our lawsuits seek agency communications and records that could help answer those questions.


** New Lawsuit Demands Top DHS Officials' Texts
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We sued ([link removed]) DHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for failing to release communication records from Secretary Kristi Noem and other top officials. The messages we are seeking could reveal DHS’s role in recent Trump administration decisions — like military deployments to American cities and the upheaval of government operations under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

We filed suit after the agencies failed to properly respond to our FOIA requests for communication records belonging to Noem and other senior DHS officials. In August, DHS told us ([link removed]) that it could no longer search for the requested text messages and that texts created since April were “no longer maintained.” DHS has since acknowledged these statements were erroneous.


** American Oversight in the News
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* DHS sued for records on Trump-appointed election conspiracy theorist (Democracy Docket ([link removed]) )
* Lindsey Halligan’s text messages come under investigation (Newsweek ([link removed]) )
* More public records exemptions filed for 2026 session (Tallahassee Democrat ([link removed]) )
* Hundreds attend town hall to question private ICE immigration detention site in Marana (Tucson Sentinel ([link removed]) )


** Other Stories We’re Following
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* Details of DHS agreement reveal risks of Trump administration’s use of Social Security data for voter citizenship checks (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* ICE quietly furloughed its congressional relations team during shutdown (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Ohio's secretary of state forwards alleged voter fraud cases to DOJ after local prosecutors don't act (Statehouse News Bureau ([link removed]) )

* Louisiana Republicans move election dates with hopes of redistricting for 2026 midterms (Louisiana Illuminator ([link removed]) )
* Tips for filing FOIA requests during a government shutdown (Freedom of the Press Foundation ([link removed]) )

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