Over 50 New FOIA Requests Filed Last Week

In the past week, American Oversight has filed more than 50 new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests investigating a variety of conflicts of interest and questionable behavior in the Trump administration and beyond. Too many important policy decisions are being made behind closed doors and we believe the public has a right to hold the government accountable.

See the FOIAs we’ve filed below:

NAFTAWatch:

American Oversight recently launched a new investigation called NAFTAWatch to monitor the Trump administration’s mismanagement of the NAFTA renegotiation. See the complete investigation and what we’re asking for here.  

Contraception Coverage Lawsuit FOIAs:

DOJ recently settled several lawsuits related to the contraception coverage mandate in the Affordable Care Act – and it appeared to voluntarily pay attorney’s fees to the lawyers who had been suing the government. One of those lawyers was Eric Dreiband – President Trump’s nominee to head the civil division at DOJ. We have sent FOIAs to the Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, the IRS and Department of Treasury to find out more about this decision. See our complete investigation of attempts to repeal the ACA.

Public Records Request for Manhattan DA Cy Vance’s Internal Communications:

Last month, American Oversight called for an inquiry into Manhattan DA Cy Vance’s decision to drop a fraud investigation of Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr following questionable campaign donations. We have now submitted requests under New York’s Freedom of Information Law to force the release of records related to other campaign donations Vance received.

Our Newest #AuditTheWall FOIAs:

Despite President Trump’s declaration that he plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the government’s plans, cost assessments, and other key details have not been revealed to the public. We filed another FOIA seeking communications about the projected costs for the wall. See more from our complete Audit the Wall investigation.  

FOIAs to Determine Costs of Renovations Under the Trump Administration:

The Trump administration has been wasting taxpayer money on more than just luxury air travel. We submitted FOIAs to multiple departments to find out how much President Trump’s cabinet members have spent on office renovations.

Uncovering the Truth behind Trump’s Transgender Ban

American Oversight has been investigating President Trump’s dubious claim that “generals” advised him to ban transgender individuals from serving in the United States military. We filed a new round of FOIAs with Department of Defense to uncover the truth about what really motivated the president’s order. See our investigation of this here.