We’ve written a lot about the Big Lie’s evolution — from fear-mongering about voter fraud to the attempts to subvert the 2020 election...


** News Roundup: A Coordinated Coup Attempt
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The Big Story

We’ve written a lot about the Big Lie’s evolution ([link removed]) — from fear-mongering about voter fraud to the attempts to subvert the 2020 election, to the ongoing partisan election reviews — and the network of activists who have been keeping this anti-democratic movement alive.

But over the past couple of months, the public has seen even more clearly how coordinated the effort was by Trump supporters and allies to try to overturn the former president’s election loss, including farfetched lawsuits and a pressure campaign on Justice Department leadership.

This week ([link removed]) , MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow ([link removed]) highlighted forged electoral certificates uncovered by American Oversight ([link removed]) that also point to a high level of coordination across several states. Those fake certificates were submitted by Trump supporters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin — all states won by Joe Biden — falsely purporting to be legitimate electors.
* Those five falsified documents, as well as those from Pennsylvania and New Mexico, which contained slightly different language in one key paragraph, all bear striking similarities in formatting and writing. “That doesn’t happen by accident,” Maddow said during her Tuesday night show. “Who organized this?”

We first reported on the records last year but they’ve ([link removed]) drawn renewed ([link removed]) scrutiny ([link removed]) this week ([link removed]) , because in the year since American Oversight obtained them, we’ve seen them referenced in two key documents related to the attempted coup:
* The how-to-overturn-the-election memo ([link removed]) prepared by ([link removed]) Trump-allied attorney John Eastman, and
* The draft letter to Georgia state officials ([link removed]) written by former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark ([link removed]) , whom Trump had toyed with installing as attorney general when Jeffrey Rosen refused to act on baseless voter fraud claims.

At the same time, Politico reports that the House Jan. 6 panel’s “state-level work is kicking into overdrive,” with investigators probing Trump’s pressuring of state election officials to back his democracy-thwarting ambitions.
* This includes messages exchanged by Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, and Georgia officials, as well as Trump’s call to an election investigator in the state, the audio recording ([link removed]) of which we obtained last year ([link removed]) .
* Another major news item regarding the attack on the Capitol was the Thursday arrest of the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers ([link removed]) , Stewart Rhodes. Rhodes and 10 others were charged with seditious conspiracy — the first sedition charge in the Justice Department’s prosecution of hundreds of people involved in the riot.
* “Prosecutors said that beginning only days after the 2020 election,” reported the New York Times ([link removed]) , “Rhodes oversaw a seditious plot ‘to oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power by force.’”

While we learn more about the coup attempt, American Oversight is also focused on the sham election investigations that have been undertaken in multiple states.
* This week, in our Wisconsin lawsuit for records related to the partisan investigation still underway in that state, American Oversight deposed Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and an aide ([link removed]) , asking them questions under oath about their failure to release public records.
* Vos had made last-minute requests to block the depositions from occurring, but those requests were rejected by multiple courts, including the Wisconsin Supreme Court ([link removed]) .
* In Pennsylvania, we sued Fulton County ([link removed]) for records related to the county’s review of the election, which it carried out in December 2020 and February 2021 with the backing of state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a vocal Trump supporter.

The partisan and protracted Wisconsin investigation has extended into the new year, and on Monday a judge let stand subpoenas ([link removed]) issued to state election officials. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul had challenged the subpoenas, arguing that lead investigator Michael Gableman could not interview officials behind closed doors.
* Meanwhile, state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, the head of the Assembly’s elections committee, has requested election data going back decades, which the chair of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission said comprises “millions of data points.” ([link removed]) “It’s a ridiculous request,” WEC Chair Ann Jacobs said ([link removed]) .

On the Records

ICE Celebrates Arrest of Massachusetts Judge
In 2019, a Massachusetts state judge wasindicted for allegedly having helped ([link removed]) an immigrant man who appeared before her in court evade federal immigration enforcement officers the year before. Along with the Massachusetts ACLU, we sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year ([link removed]) for the release of communications about the prosecution. Documents filed in court show top ICE officials celebrating the arrest ([link removed]) .

Trump Administration Loyalty Tests
Mari Stull, a Trump appointee in the State Department, was investigated in 2018 ([link removed]) for having allegedly vetted employees for loyalty to the president. We obtained Stull’s emails ([link removed]) from that time, which provide concerning examples ([link removed]) of such behavior. In one email about a candidate for a UNICEF job, Stull pointed out that they had “served Hillary Clinton,” and said that the position “would be well served by a like-minded, proven supporter of the President.”
The Coronavirus Pandemic

The Biden administration plans to announce ([link removed]) next week how it will make “high-quality masks available to the American people for free.” After consideration, the CDC decided not to update its mask guidance ([link removed]) to recommend N95 and KN95 masks, which provide better protection against the virus than surgical or cloth masks. “Any mask is better than no mask,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said ([link removed]) .
* The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked ([link removed]) the Biden administration’s vaccination mandate for large businesses, which would have covered more than 80 million workers. The court allowed the vaccine mandate policy for health care workers to move forward.
* The Associated Press highlighted ([link removed]) the shortcomings in relying on case counts as the primary data point for illustrating the state of the pandemic, as they do not take into account unreported tests taken at home or infected people who don’t test at all. Instead, media outlets have increasingly relied on other indicators of the surge, such as overwhelmed hospitals or worker shortages.

The country broke its record for Covid-19 hospitalizations ([link removed]) this week, with more than 145,000 people in hospitals with the virus, surpassing the previous peak in January 2021. Nationwide cases and deaths have increased ([link removed]) in the past week compared with the previous two weeks.
* In California, officials have attempted to address hospital staffing shortages by directing health care workers who test positive without symptoms to return to work without isolating ([link removed]) . The move was based on guidance from the CDC ([link removed]) allowing work restrictions to be lifted for asymptomatic personnel during “crisis” situations.
* Cases in New York City, the original U.S. hotspot for omicron, have plateaued ([link removed]) , sparking optimism ([link removed]) from city officials. On Tuesday, high school students across the city walked out of their classes ([link removed]) to protest inadequate protective measures.
* West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice tested positive ([link removed]) for Covid-19, stating that he felt “extremely unwell” but is vaccinated and boosted.
* State Department staff ([link removed]) are experiencing a massive surge in cases.
* Chicago schools reopened ([link removed]) after the city agreed to bolster protective measures against the virus, including expanded testing and providing students with N95s, as demanded by the teachers union.
* The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis received a briefing ([link removed]) about the government’s response to the omicron variant from CDC Director Walensky and top HHS officials David Kessler and Dawn O’Connell. Walensky, along with Anthony Fauci, also testified at a Senate hearing ([link removed]) about Covid-19 variants on Tuesday.

Other Stories We’re Following

Jan. 6 and the Big Lie
* House Jan. 6 committee dismisses ‘unsupported’ claim of FBI involvement in riot (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Lindell started a new election ‘hub’ run by Jan. 6 riot attendees (Daily Beast ([link removed]) )
* Violent online messages before Capitol riot went unshared by DHS, emails show (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Revealed: The billionaires funding the coup’s brain trust (Rolling Stone ([link removed]) )

Sham Election Reviews
* Green Bay tells Assembly Republicans they can’t have the private information about voters they’re seeking (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ([link removed]) )
* Dem lawmakers to DA: Wisconsin must ‘prosecute sedition within its own borders’ (Wisconsin Examiner ([link removed]) )
* Wisconsin GOP leader: ‘Zero chance’ of taking over elections (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Cyber Ninjas chief wants to start new firm with same workers (Jacksonville Journal-Courier ([link removed]) )
* Cyber Ninjas, firm that led Arizona ballot review, is closed, CEO confirms (Arizona Republic ([link removed]) )
* Macomb County’s election audit finds ‘no outside interference’ (Detroit News ([link removed]) )

Voting Rights
* Kyrsten Sinema not backing down on the filibuster in fatal blow to Democrats’ voting rights fight (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Conservative groups target state, local voter registration rolls with multiple lawsuits (Iowa Capital Dispatch ([link removed]) )
* Republicans set to force emergency rule on absentee ballot drop boxes Monday (Wisconsin Examiner ([link removed]) )
* Families separated at border now fear extortion attempts (Associated Press ([link removed]) )

National News
* Student loan processor Navient to cancel $1.7 billion of debts (Wall Street Journal ([link removed]) )
* RNC signals a pullout from presidential debates (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Justice Dept. forms new domestic terrorism unit to address growing threat (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Treasury warns of ‘enormous challenges’ this tax-filing season that could delay refunds (Washington Post ([link removed]) )

In the States
* Redistricting: Ohio Supreme Court strikes down state House and Senate maps (Columbus Dispatch ([link removed]) )
* Because an email went to spam, a Virginia lawmaker wants all FOIA requests made by certified mail (Richmond Times-Dispatch ([link removed]) )
* Florida Republicans craft restrictive abortion law Democrats have little power to stop (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Gianforte sides with Legislature in criticizing Montana judiciary (Montana Free Press ([link removed]) )
* Abbott dismissed criticism of National Guard pay issues and suicides, accusing opponents of ‘playing politics’ (Houston Chronicle ([link removed]) )
* Judge rules against pipeline company trying to keep ‘counterinsurgency’ records secret (Intercept ([link removed]) )
* Governor looks to target Missouri Sunshine Law during legislative session (Missouri Independent ([link removed]) )
* Florida officials tried to steer education contract to former lawmaker’s company (Tampa Bay Times ([link removed]) )
* A rural Washington school board race shows how far-right extremists are shifting to local power (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Sheriff ordered deputies to take cash from undocumented immigrants, investigators allege (Washington Post ([link removed]) )

Trump Accountability
* How a Trump golf course is screwing over a public school (Daily Beast ([link removed]) )
* Georgia DA investigating Trump closer to decision on charges (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Mike Pence. Stephen Miller. The Supreme Court. Vaccine mandates. What could possibly go wrong? (Mother Jones ([link removed]) )
* Pressed on his election lies, former President Trump cuts NPR interview short (NPR ([link removed]) )

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