Investigations Update: Political Interference in Coronavirus Data, Texas Election Lawsuit, and State Officials' Voter-Fraud Allegations
In this email:
* Florida Officials’ Communications About Data Scientist Rebekah Jones
* Texas Election Lawsuit Against Four Battleground States
* Giuliani Meeting with Arizona Lawmakers

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

Florida Officials’ Communications About Data Scientist Rebekah Jones
Last Monday, armed police raided ([link removed]) the home of Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones and confiscated her computers and phone, saying they were investigating an alleged hack ([link removed]) into a state government emergency response system. Jones — a former Florida Department of Health (DOH) scientist who says she was fired ([link removed]) in the spring after refusing to change coronavirus data to support Gov. Ron DeSantis’ reopening plan — has since ([link removed]) accused ([link removed]) DeSantis of attempting to intimidate her for her
allegations ([link removed]) . We filed records requests ([link removed]) with DOH and the governor’s office for communications among officials regarding Jones, as well as for records ([link removed]) regarding the recent resignation ([link removed]) of DOH’s top spokesperson, Alberto Moscoso.

Allegations of Covid-19 Email Destruction at CDC
On Dec. 10, Rep. James E. Clyburn, chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, sent a letter of concern ([link removed]) to DHS Secretary Alex Azar and CDC Director Robert Redfield regarding allegations from a CDC official that Redfield had ordered ([link removed]) her to delete an email from a political appointee who was attempting to control CDC scientific reports. We filed FOIA requests with the CDC for records ([link removed]) regarding the deletion or destruction of agency records, for senior officials’ text messages and emails ([link removed]) , and for the email
([link removed]) that Redfield allegedly ordered to be deleted.

Texas Election Lawsuit Against Four Battleground States
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit ([link removed]) filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ([link removed]) seeking to overturn ([link removed]) the election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin (four states where Trump lost). While the anti-democratic legal effort stood no chance ([link removed]) , an alarming 126 House Republicans ([link removed]) had signed on to a brief supporting it. We sent records requests
([link removed]) to the Texas Attorney General’s Office for emails and text messages concerning the lawsuit.

Wisconsin Vote Recounts
Last week, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported ([link removed]) that Wisconsin lawmakers were, with no explanation ([link removed]) , withholding ([link removed]) $3 million in reimbursements for recounts requested ([link removed]) by the Trump campaign in Dane and Milwaukee counties — recounts that ultimately confirmed ([link removed]) the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The Wisconsin Elections Commission had unanimously approved
([link removed]) the recounts on Nov. 19, after a meeting that lasted more than five hours ([link removed]) . We filed records requests ([link removed]) with the Wisconsin Elections Commission for members’ text messages with external parties, including with representatives of the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign.

Giuliani Meeting with Arizona Lawmakers
On Nov. 30, several Republican Arizona lawmakers and Rudy Giuliani — who days later was hospitalized with Covid-19 ([link removed]) — held an unofficial “hearing” ([link removed]) in which participants made unsubstantiated allegations about the integrity of the presidential election. Some of the lawmakers who attended the meeting later called for the Arizona Legislature to convene a special session ([link removed]) to appoint its own presidential electors. We sent records requests to the Arizona House of Representatives for Majority Leader Warren Petersen’s communications and records regarding private meetings with Giuliani. We also sent requests to the Arizona governor’s
office and the attorney general’s office for officials’ calendars.
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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