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The Big Story
After teasing a potential August release of a final report on findings from the Arizona Senate's partisan election "audit," officials involved in the sham process said they still needed more information before they could complete it.
That announcement came during a Senate hearing last week, an event that accomplished two things: It provided an excuse for more time — more time for speculation and growing mistrust in democracy — and it provided new unfounded claims for supporters of the "big lie" to circulate, the most notable being the false claim that there were thousands of extra mail-in ballots sent to Maricopa County. (Here's why that claim, and other allegations from the hearing, are not true.)
Of course, no matter when those "findings" are released, we have already uncovered enough about the ballot review's biased origins and conspiracy-based justifications to know that those findings will be lacking in any credibility. This Thursday, American Oversight published a report, based on hundreds of pages of documents we obtained as well as public reporting, outlining how the "audit" has already been compromised:
- Top officials began the process with the predetermined conclusion that fraud took place, selecting similarly biased contractors like Cyber Ninjas.
- Conspiracy theorists who peddle in destabilizing lies have been involved in nearly every stage of the operation.
- Officials knew of problematic and potentially voter-intimidating actions undertaken by allies.
- Key information, including about its funding, has been kept from the public thanks to the Arizona Senate's secrecy.
As the report says, the true results of the "audit" can already be seen in multiple ways. For one, there are the attempts by sympathizers in other states to initiate their own illegitimately partisan election reviews:
- This week, protesters seeking election audits gathered for a rally in Novi, Mich., and packed a York County Commissioners meeting in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania's secretary of state decertified the voting equipment of Fulton County, which had participated in a December audit requested by state senators, including Sen. Doug Mastriano, who is leading a charge for a wider investigation into that state's election.
- Texas lawmakers have introduced a bill calling for a forensic audit of the election results in the state's largest counties. The effort is backed by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
- Pushes for audits are also going on in other states, including North Carolina and Wisconsin, where, as we've covered before, the speaker of the state Assembly has initiated an investigation to be run by three former police officers and a former state Supreme Court justice.
The true results of the "audit" are also apparent in the flurry of new voting restrictions being passed and proposed across the country, in the increasing number of threats to election workers, and in the perpetuation of the "big lie" that threatens to undermine our democracy. Some recent headlines:
- Personal threats, election lies and punishing new laws rattle election officials, raising fears of a mass exodus (CNN)
- Businesses condemned Georgia's voting law, then gave thousands to its backers (Washington Post)
- Most Arizona Republicans think 'audit' will flip election (Political Wire)
More transparency about the Arizona Senate's bogus election review is coming, through American Oversight's ongoing requests and litigation for records. We'll provide updates in these newsletters — share this sign-up link with others.
On the Records
Federal Election Officials in Communication with Anti-Voting Rights Groups
American Oversight recently obtained emails revealing that in the months before and after the 2020 election, appointees at the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency tasked with helping states administer secure elections, communicated with activists and groups dedicated to restricting voting access. The records include emails from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a network with a history of promoting restrictive voting measures, and messages that provide information about an "Election Law Working Group" convened by the Heritage Foundation.
Trump Administration Response to Racial Justice Protests
Records from the Justice Department reveal that late last spring, as the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked nationwide protests, top officials circulated materials related to invoking the Insurrection Act, a law that allows the president to deploy federal troops within the U.S. to respond to certain circumstances. We've been investigating the Trump administration's authoritarian response to protests last year; read more about what we've found here and here.
Indictment of Trump Ally
On Tuesday, Tom Barrack, an associate of former President Trump who served as chair of Trump's inauguration committee, was charged with illegally lobbying the former president on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. In 2018, we uncovered then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's calendars, which included an April 2017 meeting set up by Barrack with ambassadors from the UAE and other Persian Gulf states.
Covid-19 at the Trump White House
On Oct. 5 last year, Trump tweeted a video of himself, maskless, marking his return to the White House after being hospitalized for Covid-19. We obtained records from the Department of Homeland Security that show that Secret Service officers were that day ordered to wear N-95 masks and eye protection, "No exceptions." Last month, it was reported that about 900 Secret Service employees were infected with the coronavirus in the prior year; previously, the agency told us that it had no records of assessments of the effect of Trump's frequent travel on the spread of the virus among officers.
Other Stories We're Following
The Coronavirus Pandemic
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America is getting unvaccinated people all wrong (Atlantic)
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Delta variant sweeps through states that dialed back health powers (Politico)
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White House officials debate masking push as Covid infections spike (Washington Post)
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U.S. virus cases nearly triple in 2 weeks amid misinformation (Associated Press)
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Appeals court allows CDC to enforce plan on resuming cruises (Politico)
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Majority of Covid misinformation came from 12 people, report finds (Guardian)
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States are sitting on millions of surplus Covid-19 vaccine doses (STAT News)
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Biden legal team decides inmates must return to prison after Covid emergency (New York Times)
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Federal judge upholds Indiana University's Covid-19 vaccination policy (CNN)
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Covid vaccines for kids under 12 expected midwinter, FDA official says (NBC News)
In the States
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After Kelcy Warren's Energy Transfer Partners made billions from the deadly Texas blackouts, he gave $1 million to Greg Abbott (Texas Observer)
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Idaho Press Club sues Lt. Gov. McGeachin over public records (Associated Press)
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No-bid contracts, millions in grants: Inside Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's administration (Arizona Republic)
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GOP legislators in Missouri oppose vaccine efforts as state becomes Covid hotspot (ProPublica)
National News
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Details on FBI inquiry into Kavanaugh draw fire from Democrats (New York Times)
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How safe is the president's 'nuclear football'? Pentagon watchdog to find out (Reuters)
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Commerce unit went 'rogue,' Senate report says, targeting Chinese Americans (New York Times)
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Mark Milley's fight to stop Trump from striking Iran (New Yorker)
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Judge rules DACA is unlawful and suspends applications (New York Times)
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