American Oversight Sues for Records on Trump-Appointed Election Denier Heather Honey

Thursday, American Oversight filed suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for failing to release records related to Heather Honey, an election-denial activist recently appointed by President Trump to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elections Integrity at DHS.

The lawsuit follows a series of unanswered Freedom of Information Act requests submitted by the nonpartisan watchdog seeking records about Honey’s hiring, communications, and calendars as well as any communications involving election-denial groups such as the Election Integrity Network — an organization led by Cleta Mitchell, a longtime proponent of voting restrictions who aided Trump in his attempts to remain in power in 2020 — and True the Vote. Her appointment and recent remarks have alarmed election officials, who were reportedly “confused and anxious” after she echoed rhetoric long associated with baseless claims of widespread voter fraud during an official DHS meeting.

“The public deserves to know how a well-known election conspiracy theorist came to be charged with safeguarding the integrity of our nation’s election systems,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “DHS and its leadership have a duty to ensure public confidence in our elections — not to shield from scrutiny officials who spread the very lies that fueled the January 6 insurrection. Transparency about Heather Honey’s appointment and actions is essential to understanding who this administration is placing in positions of power to oversee election infrastructure — because that may reveal how they intend to manage and potentially undermine the security of future elections.”

Prior to her appointment to DHS, Honey suggested that the Trump administration could declare a “national emergency” and use it to impose new rules on state and local election officials — a move she said could be justified by an “actual investigation” into the 2020 election if it revealed “manipulation” of the vote.

Honey brings a notably controversial background to her role at DHS. Before joining the Trump administration, she distorted voter data to advance unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election and founded Haystack Investigations, a firm subcontracted by Cyber Ninjas — the lead contractor responsible for the Arizona Senate GOP’s partisan “audit” of the 2020 elections. Her work in battleground states drew sharp criticism: In Pennsylvania, she falsely asserted the state “had 205,000 more votes than voters” — a claim later debunked but nonetheless parroted by President Trump.

American Oversight’s previous investigations have helped shed light on Honey’s extensive involvement in the election-denial movement and her outreach to state officials advancing baseless claims about voter fraud. Records obtained by American Oversight show that she shared what appears to be draft legislation with state legislators questioning the security of voting machines, contacted officials in multiple states urging withdrawal from the nonpartisan Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), and coordinated activities with Cleta Mitchell.

Additional records obtained by American Oversight include Honey’s February 2023 email to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office urging the state to “Return Control and Management of State Data Back to the States,” as well as her participation in communications following an anti-ERIC summit. Collectively, these findings show a pattern of efforts to undermine confidence in elections and promote conspiracies restricting access to the ballot — raising serious questions about her current role overseeing federal election integrity efforts.