This week marked five years since the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6., 2021. In that time, Donald Trump and his administration have tried to rewrite the history of that day and whitewash supporters’ efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. On the anniversary of the attack, the Trump White House published a web page misrepresenting the day’s events, minimizing the brutality of the assault, and placing blame on Democratic leaders and Capitol police.
This is why transparency is so important. Public records prove exactly how violent and chaotic that day really was, despite Trump’s efforts to manipulate the narrative.
Our Jan. 6 timeline provides a minute-by-minute account of the day of the attack, including how key government officials responded. It’s based on public reporting and more than a dozen sets of public records we obtained through FOIA requests and lawsuits. Details from these records are important for holding government officials accountable for their actions and preventing such violence from happening again.
It is clear that officials are still discussing how they want to reshape the narrative around the Jan. 6 attack. That’s why, on Monday, we sued the DOJ and the FBI for failing to produce records of their top leaders’ recent communications about the attack, Trump’s sweeping pardons of convicted rioters, and other efforts to subvert the will of the voters or cast doubt on electoral processes.
In the years since that violent day, we’ve documented a troubling normalization of election subversion efforts — from the denial of legitimate election results to systematic efforts to reshape how our democracy works as well as voter registration purges that risk excluding eligible voters.
As our Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said, our “responsibility is clear and urgent: renew a commitment to truth, accountability, full participation, and to protecting every voter’s right to be heard and to have their vote counted.”
Deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis reinforces need for transparency
The Trump administration’s attempts to shift blame and avoid accountability are also evident in its response to the deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis this week.
We sued ICE last April to get it to release its policy and training materials related to officers’ use of force. We’re still fighting for its release.
We’re also investigating the Trump administration’s federal occupation of American cities. We’ve filed FOIA requests for records regarding the potential, ongoing, or past occupations of Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis, New Orleans, Portland, and Washington, D.C.
What we know about Maduro’s detention facility
U.S. military operations in and around Venezuela intensified last weekend, as the Trump administration raided the country’s capital and seized its President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. At least 80 people died during the U.S. raid on Caracas.
Documents we obtained previously shed some light on conditions at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where Maduro and Flores are being held. Detainees have complained of medical and safety concerns, breakdowns in safe living conditions, and an extended loss of heat and electricity during a power outage in 2019. Other records revealed discrepancies between public statements about the facility and its actual detention conditions. These documents raise broader questions about detainee welfare, transparency, and accountability at a facility with a documented history of operational failures.
MDC is also one of the federal detention facilities affected by the Trump administration’s recent attempts to restrict congressional oversight visits. We’re representing members of Congress who challenged the administration’s efforts in court. Last month, a federal judge temporarily restored Congress’s ability to conduct unannounced inspections, reinforcing that detention oversight is a legal obligation, not a matter of executive discretion.
We are also still pursuing our suit against the Trump administration for records surrounding its deadly Venezuelan boat strikes, which resulted in at least 115 deaths.
American Oversight in the news
'Attempted to revise and whitewash': DOJ, FBI sued on eve of Jan. 6 to 'shed light' on top officials' emails and texts about Trump pardons, 'abuse' of power (Law & Crime)
The next attack on free and fair elections won't look like Jan. 6 (MS Now)
‘Unprecedented in scope’: Cannon gives Trump new opportunity to push back release of Jack Smith's report, while denying others a chance to intervene (Law & Crime)
Other stories we’re following
U.S. seizes Russian-flagged tanker that fled Venezuela blockade (Washington Post)
Judge orders Lindsey Halligan to explain why she’s using U.S. attorney title (Axios)
Emails outline potential cuts affecting thousands of FEMA disaster responders (Washington Post)
RFK Jr. scales back the number of vaccines recommended for children (New York Times)
Thousands of mail-in ballots could be discounted under new post office policy (Washington Post)
