News Roundup: A Cruel and Cynical Stunt

The vilification of immigrants and immigration has sadly become a recurring pattern in right-wing politics — from then-candidate Donald Trump’s golden escalator campaign announcement in 2015 to the “Muslim ban” and family separation — but it has reached new and shockingly cynical depths in recent weeks as the governors of several states have used vulnerable migrants themselves as political pawns.

• This week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent two planeloads of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard without the consent of either the migrants or the residents of the small Massachusetts island. The next day, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas sent two buses of migrants to the street in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’s residence in Washington, DC. 
• Both moves were an escalation of an ongoing series of stunts by DeSantis and Abbott to transport migrants to cities and states that have not embraced extreme, anti-immigrant politics. The result has been chaos in communities unprepared and unequipped to handle the arrivals, with thousands of migrants caught in the middle of a political game. 

American Oversight has been investigating. Last month, we began sending records requests to officials in Texas and Arizona seeking information about the migrant relocation effort. So far, we’ve already uncovered Arizona’s contract with a bus operator — and in light of this week’s developments, our investigation will continue and expand. 

On the Records

The Partisanship of John Durham’s Investigation
Even as one political stunt ramps up, another is apparently winding down. John Durham, the prosecutor appointed under the Trump administration to run a counter investigation to the Mueller probe, will reportedly complete a final report this year. Shortly after Robert Mueller wrapped up his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Attorney General William Barr announced a new inquiry — one led by Durham that would examine the origins of Mueller’s investigation.

• The New York Times reports that Durham is “winding down his three-year inquiry without anything close to the results Mr. Trump was seeking,” noting that “he has not charged any conspiracy or put any high-level officials on trial.”
• Durham’s investigation was highly politicized and problematic from the start. Our FOIA litigation revealed that Barr met frequently with Durham — 18 times in the 7 months after the Mueller investigation ended — undermining the principle that federal prosecutors are supposed to be free from political interference.
• In September 2019, Barr traveled to Italy with Durham to seek help in Durham’s investigation of the origins of the Russia probe. We obtained his expenses from this trip.
• Read what else we’ve uncovered about Durham’s investigation here and here.

The Conservative Groups Who Funded the Arizona “Audit”
Records we previously obtained, reported on by Grid News, show the American Voting Rights Foundation (AVRF) — one of many organizations that channeled money to different efforts associated with the Big Lie — helped fund the Arizona Senate’s partisan “audit.” 

• On July 28, 2021, Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who had assisted with Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the election, wrote an email to AVRF treasurer Tom Datwyler, Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan and “audit” spokesman Randy Pullen. 
• “Tom — Randy and Doug are sending invoices to wire $ to some AZ entities from American Voting Rights Foundation,” wrote Mitchell in an email we obtained. “Randy / Doug —… Can you please work with Tom to get the funds out today where the funds need to be sent?”
• The next day, Mitchell sent another email indicating that AVRF had transferred $1 million to three groups and/or people associated with the Arizona “audit.”
• Learn more about other groups who have funded the Big Lie and how they’re being investigated, here.

Other Stories We’re Following

The January 6 Investigations

• Mark Meadows complied with DOJ subpoena in January 6 probe (CNN)
• Jan. 6 committee seeks new trove of John Eastman emails (Politico)
• Former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller subpoenaed by Justice Department (CNN)
• Jan. 6 panel to restart hearings as House returns to work (Wall Street Journal)
• Justice Dept. issues 40 subpoenas in a week, expanding its Jan. 6 inquiry (New York Times)
• Trump called in to a pro-January 6 rally at the DC jail (Washingtonian)
• Jan. 6 panel’s subpoena yields ‘thousands’ of Secret Service records (Axios)
• The Justice Dept.’s Jan. 6 investigation is looking at … everything (Washington Post)

“Audits” and other efforts to undermine elections

• Fighting bogus claims a growing priority in election offices (Associated Press) 
• Trump backers flood election offices with requests as 2022 vote nears (Washington Post) 
• Election deniers advanced to November ballots in 27 states, report finds (NBC News)
• Voting machine discussion won’t happen at Arizona Corporation Commission (Arizona Republic)
• Election-denying ‘patriot’ groups are trying to stop the use of electronic voting machines across Pa. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) 
• Virginia AG announces 20-person ‘election integrity unit’ (Virginia Mercury)
• Amid his own fraud investigation, Johnson County sheriff caught telling poll worker to ‘be slippery’ (KCUR)
• Lawsuit alleges True the Vote hacked data and targeted small election vendor with racist, defamatory campaign (Votebeat)
• New voting restrictions could make it harder for 1 in 5 Americans to vote (ProPublica)

Pandemic response and oversight

• Court rehears fight over vaccine mandate for federal workers (Associated Press)
• Two top House Democrats seek review of whether airlines used Covid bailout funds for staff buyouts (CNBC)
• DOJ establishes COVID-19 Strike Force teams to combat fraud (WTOP) 
• Poverty and uninsured rates drop, thanks to pandemic-era policies (NPR)
• How four private groups used their clout to control the global Covid response — with little oversight (Politico)
• ‘Untrustworthy and ineffective’: Panel blasts governments’ covid response (Washington Post) 
• An appeals court considers whether Florida should provide daily COVID-19 data (WUSF)

Trump Accountability

• N.Y. attorney general may sue Trump after rejecting settlement offer (New York Times)
• Dearie named special master to review Trump’s Mar-a-Lago documents (Washington Post)
• For Donald Trump, information has always been power (ProPublica)

Other news from around the country

• State plane may have flown to SD Gov. Noem family wedding (KELO)
• Texas delays publication of maternal death data until after midterms, legislative session (Houston Chronicle)
• Texas reduces National Guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star border mission (Texas Tribune)
• Montana adopts permanent block on birth certificate changes for trans people (NBC News)
• Wisconsin Elections Commission withdraws guidance on fixing ballot errors following court ruling (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Indiana law banning most abortions takes effect (CNN)