Here’s a look at the investigations our team has been pursuing through records requests and Freedom of Information Act litigation in the last week.

Investigations Update: DHS Intelligence Efforts in Portland, the Politicization of Key Government Agency, and the Pandemic's Impact on Census
In this email:
* New Lawsuit for Records Showing Covid-19 Impact on 2020 Census
* Investigating the State Department’s New Inspector General
* Bannon Ally’s Purge at Voice of America

[link removed]

Here’s a look at the investigations our team has been pursuing through public records requests in the last week:

DHS Protest-Related Intelligence and Tactics: On Monday, the House Intelligence Committee launched ([link removed]) an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence operations with regard to the response to nationwide protests. The presence of federal officers in several U.S. cities such as Portland ([link removed]) , Seattle ([link removed]) , and Kansas City ([link removed]) has raised concerns about DHS’s surveillance tactics ([link removed]) , the use of excessive force
([link removed]) against protesters, and officials’ having referred to demonstrators as “violent antifa anarchist inspired ([link removed]) .” We filed FOIA requests with DHS for related directives ([link removed]) and data assessments ([link removed]) , emails ([link removed]) about the protests, decision
([link removed]) memos ([link removed]) and correspondence ([link removed]) of high-ranking officials, and protest-related complaints ([link removed]) submitted to DHS’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Justice Department Email Communications with Police Unions: Questions have arisen ([link removed]) about coordination between federal agencies and local police, especially in light of a meeting ([link removed]) between a Portland police union and federal officials without the presence of key city leaders. We filed a FOIA request ([link removed]) with the Justice Department for email communications with police unions and organizations.

New Lawsuit for Records Showing Covid-19 Impact on 2020 Census: Last week, we sued ([link removed]) the Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce for records related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the implementation of the 2020 census, which remains a target of the Trump administration’s attempts ([link removed]) to engineer the decennial congressional reapportionment for its political benefit. We also followed up with more FOIA requests ([link removed]) to the Census Bureau for coronavirus-related communications with external entities.

Questions about Potential Chao-McConnell Coordination on Kentucky Covid-19 Aid: Documents uncovered by American Oversight last year revealed that the office of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao had created a “special path ([link removed];) ” for meeting requests involving Kentucky, the home state of her and her husband, Sen. Mitch McConnell. Records also suggested that McConnell’s office had coordinated ([link removed]) with the Transportation Department on state-specific grants in the past. In April, McConnell announced ([link removed].) that Kentucky airports would receive more than $77 million in pandemic relief funds from the CARES Act. We filed a FOIA request
([link removed]) with the Department of Transportation for communications related to those funds.

Investigating the State Department’s New Inspector General: In May, Trump selected Stephen Akard to serve as the State Department’s acting inspector general after firing ([link removed]) Steve Linick, who was reportedly ([link removed]) investigating alleged misconduct by Secretary Mike Pompeo. Akard is simultaneously ([link removed]) serving as acting inspector general and director of the Office of Foreign Missions, the position he held before his appointment, worrying agency officials ([link removed]) about potential conflicts of interest. We filed FOIA requests with the State Department for Akard’s decision memos
([link removed]) , ethics documents ([link removed]) , and communications ([link removed]) concerning Linick’s removal. We also asked for the SF-50 forms ([link removed]) for employees who have joined the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General since May 15, and for records ([link removed]) that show the senior-most official charged with overseeing investigations from which Akard has recused himself.

Bannon Ally’s Purge at Voice of America: In June, Michael Pack — Trump’s controversial ([link removed]) appointee to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) — ousted a number of top agency executives in what one former official called a “Wednesday night massacre ([link removed]) .” Critics are worried ([link removed]) about the politicization of USAGM, which oversees Voice of America and has long remained an independent federal agency meant to counter disinformation ([link removed]) without partisan interference. We filed several requests with the agency for communications
([link removed]) of specific officials, as well as guidance documents ([link removed]) , ethics records ([link removed]) , and calendar entries ([link removed]) of officials recently installed by Pack.

Politicization of National Intelligence: In February, news reporting suggested ([link removed]) that Trump removed Joseph Maguire as acting director of national intelligence after learning that Maguire briefed Congress on the continued threat of Russian interference in the 2020 elections. Trump loyalist Richard Grenell was then temporarily appointed to the role of the nation’s chief intelligence officer, despite ([link removed]) having no experience in intelligence work. Grenell brought on Kash Patel ([link removed]) , a National Security Council official who, while working for Rep. Devin Nunes, worked to discredit the Russia probe. We filed FOIA requests for Grenell’s and Patel’s
communications, ([link removed]) decision memos ([link removed]) , and calendars ([link removed]) .

Voting-Restrictionist Influence in Elections: Recently, Election Assistance Commissioners Christy McCormick and Don Palmer participated in the “Red, White & True News” podcast ([link removed]) put out by the voting-restriction advocacy group True the Vote. We filed a FOIA request ([link removed]) with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission for the agency’s communications with True the Vote, and, as part of our ongoing investigation ([link removed]) into state government contacts with voting-restriction activists, we filed similar records requests for Arizona ([link removed]) and Georgia
([link removed]) officials’ communications with the group.
To find out more about our work, you can follow us on Twitter at @WeAreOversight ([link removed]) and @ojocorrupcion ([link removed]) , or like us on Facebook ([link removed]) . If you are able, please consider supporting our work with a contribution here ([link removed]) .

Donate to American Oversight ([link removed])
Thank you again for following our latest news. We are grateful for your support and for helping us hold the administration accountable.

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