Investigations Update: New Kentucky Voter Fraud Task Force Lawsuit, and Our Supreme Court Short List Investigation
In this email:
* Trump’s Potential Supreme Court Nominees
* Kentucky Ballot Integrity Task Force Lawsuit
* Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution

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

Trump’s Potential Supreme Court Nominees
This weekend, after Senate Republican leadership said it would move forward with filling the Supreme Court vacancy before the election (against the wishes of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), we launched an investigation ([link removed]) into President Donald Trump’s potential Supreme Court nominees, filing more than a dozen records requests to multiple state and federal agencies.

We’ve requested documents that may shed light on the backgrounds and legal perspectives of those on the short list, including Amy Coney Barrett, Britt Grant, and Barbara Lagoa — all federal judges appointed to their current seats by the president — as well as Deputy White House Counsel Kate Todd. Among those requests are some sent to Florida, where Lagoa is a federal judge, and Georgia, where Grant is a judge and former solicitor general. You can read more about what we’re seeking here ([link removed]) , and about what we already have requested here ([link removed]) .

Kentucky Ballot Integrity Task Force Lawsuit
In July, as part of our ongoing investigation ([link removed]) into state election fraud task forces’ potential to undermine confidence in elections, we filed records requests with the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General for documents and communications related to the state’s Ballot Integrity Task Force. On Tuesday, we sued ([link removed]) the Kentucky attorney general for failing to release the records.

Revised CDC Covid-19 Guidelines
On Monday, the CDC removed ([link removed]) from its website updated guidance concerning the spread of the Covid-19. The guidance (which had been posted last Friday) emphasized ([link removed]) the airborne nature of the coronavirus. Political appointees have ([link removed]) interfered ([link removed]) with CDC Covid-19 guidance in the past, so we’ve filed FOIA requests ([link removed]) to the Department of Health and Health Services for email communications about changes to the coronavirus guidelines.

Political Influence at the FDA
Recent weeks have seen rising concerns ([link removed]) about the potential politicization of the Food and Drug Administration, particularly surrounding the FDA’s decision to issue an emergency authorization ([link removed].) for the use of convalescent plasma for the treatment of Covid-19 following sustained pressure ([link removed]) from the White House ([link removed]) . We filed FOIA requests
([link removed]) with HHS, the FDA, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for email communications regarding convalescent plasma treatment.

Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution
This summer, the CDC contracted management company Deloitte Consulting LLC ([link removed]) and health-care company McKesson Corporation ([link removed]) for the tracking and distribution, respectively, of any Covid-19 vaccines. We filed FOIA requests with HHS and the Defense Department for records concerning vaccine distribution plans facilitated by Deloitte ([link removed]) and McKesson ([link removed]) , including copies of contracts, directives, and assessments.

Investigating Michael Caputo
In April, the White House installed Michael Caputo as HHS assistant secretary of public affairs, a move reportedly ([link removed]) designed to assert more White House control over HHS. After assuming office, Caputo sought to interfere with the CDC’s crucial scientific Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports ([link removed]) , influenced when government scientists appear on television ([link removed]) , and spread conspiracy theories ([link removed]) on social media. We filed FOIA requests ([link removed]) with HHS for Caputo’s resume, ethics records, calendars, and emails, which have the potential to shed light on the role
Caputo, who last week announced a leave of absence from the agency, has had in shaping the government’s response.

Investigating DeJoy and USPS
Last week, the Washington Post reported ([link removed]) on nearly 10,000 pages of Postal Service documents we obtained through FOIA. The records revealed USPS had a plan to send five masks to every household (the plan never came to fruition) and that the Treasury Department had attempted to take control over USPS operations. We also sued USPS for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s emails related to USPS’s vote-by-mail efforts. Finally, we filed a new FOIA request ([link removed]) with USPS for the file created for DeJoy in advance of his meeting on voting by mail, which took place around July 17, as well as any records that reflect the content of that meeting.

Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections
Foreign interference remains a huge threat to this year’s presidential election, a threat that is all the more alarming because of the Trump administration’s own reported solicitations of it. The New York Times reported ([link removed]) in July that Todd Chapman, the ambassador to Brazil, conveyed to Brazillian officials that their lifting of ethanol tariffs could help Trump’s popularity in swing states where ethanol is a major export. And former National Security Adviser John Bolton alleged ([link removed]) that Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about how China’s soybean purchases could sway the election in Trump’s favor. We filed requests to multiple agencies for communications
([link removed]) regarding ([link removed]) support ([link removed]) from China or Brazil for Trump’s re-election.

Georgia Elections
Voters faced long lines and other major operational issues during Georgia’s June 9 primary, causing significant delays ([link removed]) in tallying the results. Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s chief operating officer and voting implementation manager, criticized the training poll workers received, saying that it contributed to a “perfect storm ([link removed]) ” of operational issues. We filed a records request ([link removed]) to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office for communications sent by Sterling in June. We also filed records requests
([link removed]) in multiple counties for guidance documents and procedures regarding language assistance for non-English-speaking voters.
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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