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: Postal Service Sabotage, Covid-19 Operation Warp Speed, and Portland Protest Deployment Costs
In this email:
* Postal Service Sabotage
* Operation Warp Speed and the Administration’s Pandemic Response
* Russian Bounty Intelligence Briefings

[link removed]

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

Postal Service Sabotage: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced ([link removed]) in a statement ([link removed]) issued on Tuesday that he would pause the Postal Service’s cost-cutting initiatives until after the 2020 election. Some are worried ([link removed]) that the controversial initiatives — including limiting mail routes, changing retail hours, and decreasing the number of collection boxes — are part of a Trump administration attempt ([link removed]) to undermine the ability of voters to
use mail-in ballots by decreasing post office operations ([link removed]) . DeJoy, who was a lead fundraiser ([link removed]) for the Republican National Convention up until he joined the Postal Service in June, is expected this Friday to testify ([link removed]) on the changes. We filed FOIA requests with USPS for DeJoy’s email communications ([link removed]) and for the resumes and ethics documents ([link removed]) of all USPS employees who joined the agency in June.

Operation Warp Speed and the Administration’s Pandemic Response: Since late 2019, the coronavirus pandemic has sickened millions of people across the world, resulting in global economic destabilization and, more importantly, over 770,000 deaths ([link removed]) . These dire circumstances should be met with international cooperation, government support for unemployed Americans ([link removed]) , and protections ([link removed]) for ([link removed]) essential workers ([link removed]) . Instead, the administration has moved to pull
([link removed]) U.S. funding from the World Health Organization (WHO), while the Department of Labor narrowed worker protections ([link removed]) and benefits ([link removed];) . Operation Warp Speed is the administration’s Covid-19 effort meant to ([link removed]) develop, review, and distribute vaccines, but the lack of transparency around the initiative has raised ([link removed]) questions ([link removed]) about its progress. We filed FOIA requests
([link removed]) with multiple agencies to learn more about Operation Warp Speed and external ([link removed]) influence ([link removed]) at the Labor Department. We also filed a request ([link removed]) with the Office of Management and Budget to learn which federal entities are receiving funds previously allocated to the WHO.

Corporations Leverage Coronavirus Crisis: Meat industry plants have become hotbeds for Covid-19 transmission, giving the Department of Agriculture a key role in the Trump administration’s pandemic response. The head of USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Delaware, Sean McKeon, previously worked as the director of communications at Mountaire Farms, one of the largest chicken producers in the country and which is owned by a top donor ([link removed]) to Trump’s 2016 campaign. The company was also criticized ([link removed]) recently for undermining workers’ rights efforts despite the many ([link removed]) dangers ([link removed])
that the coronavirus pandemic poses to meatpacking workers. We filed a FOIA ([link removed]) request with the USDA for records of communications between McKeon and Mountaire Farms.

Growing List of Cities Impacted by Operation Legend: In early July, Attorney General William Barr announced ([link removed]) Operation Legend, an effort to send federal law enforcement officers to specific cities purportedly to assist state and local officials in fighting crime. Operation Legend was initially ([link removed]) deployed to Kansas City, Missouri, but Barr has since expanded ([link removed]) the operation to Chicago and Albuquerque and has also announced intentions to further expand ([link removed]) the effort to Cleveland, Detroit, and
Milwaukee. We filed FOIA requests with the Department of Homeland Security for records regarding Operation Legend, including directives ([link removed]) , violent-crime reduction strategies ([link removed]) , and data of deployment numbers ([link removed]) and arrests ([link removed]) .

Financial Cost of Protest Suppression in Portland: The Trump administration’s alarming deployment of federal troops to Portland, Ore., to respond to the city’s racial justice protests drew criticism from legal experts ([link removed]) , activists ([link removed]) , and political leaders ([link removed]) alike. Though Portland’s residents and local officials voiced ([link removed]) their ([link removed]) opposition ([link removed]) to the deployment, it was weeks after
federal officials initially arrived before the agencies tentatively agreed to withdraw ([link removed]) from the city. We filed FOIA requests ([link removed]) with multiple agencies for records ([link removed]) reflecting the costs of sending federal agents to Portland.

Foreign Interference in Racial Justice Demonstrations: During a June 4 press conference ([link removed]) addressing nationwide protests for racial justice, Attorney General Barr said, “We have evidence that some of the foreign hackers and groups that are associated with foreign governments are focusing in on this particular situation” and that they are “playing all sides to exacerbate the violence.” Reports also show that social media accounts with ties to the governments of Russia and China (such as Chinese ambassadors and Russian-backed news outlets) have been posting ([link removed]) divisive content about the demonstrations. We filed a FOIA request ([link removed]) with the State
Department’s Global Engagement Center to learn more about how the Trump administration is responding to potential foreign interference in these protests.

Russian Bounty Intelligence Briefings: In June, The New York Times reported ([link removed]) that U.S. intelligence officials had concluded months earlier that a Russian military unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan, including U.S. troops. Subsequent reporting indicated that the intelligence community briefed Trump on their assessment in February ([link removed]) , though Trump has claimed that such evidence of Russian-backed bounties “never reached [his] desk ([link removed]) .” We filed FOIA requests ([link removed]) with multiple agencies for records related to the government’s handling of intelligence about the alleged
Russian payments to Taliban-linked militants, including dissent memos ([link removed]) , press communications ([link removed]) , and talking points ([link removed]) .

Republican Activists Help Kanye West Run for President: Artist and rapper Kanye West, who first announced ([link removed]) his presidential run in July, has filed ([link removed]) to be a presidential candidate in several states that are expected to play important roles in deciding the upcoming election. It’s since been reported that Republican activists, including individuals who have ([link removed]) worked ([link removed]) for the Trump campaign, are aiding ([link removed]) West’s effort. In particular, Vice reported that longtime Republican operative Rachel George was part of the successful
effort ([link removed]) to put West on the ballot in Colorado by soliciting help from her connections in the state. We filed a records request ([link removed]) with the Colorado Attorney General’s office for communications regarding George and West.

Lawsuit for Federal Student Aid Performance Agreements: Every year, the Education Department is required to evaluate the Federal Student Aid (FSA) chief operating officer’s work through performance agreements and make those agreements publicly available. Over the past few years, the agency hasn’t posted ([link removed]) the records online, and on Monday, we partnered with Student Defense and sued ([link removed]) the Education Department to compel the release of these performance agreements.
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]) .

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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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