News Roundup: Jan. 6 Accountability and Election ‘Audit’ Transparency

Nine months since he left office, Donald Trump is still working to obstruct congressional oversight and to dodge accountability for the violence of Jan. 6. 

His latest bid has been to sue the National Archives and the House committee investigating the riot to block the release of related White House records. On Thursday, the House voted to find former White House strategist Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the committee’s investigation, as directed by Trump and Trump’s attorney. The finding is now referred to the Justice Department for potential criminal prosecution.

Over the past week, American Oversight filed three lawsuits against several federal agencies over their failure to release records from the days surrounding Jan. 6. Among the records sought: 

• The communications of top Trump administration officials from the day of the attack that could shed light on the delay in authorizing National Guard deployment;
• Notes and other materials from meetings held on Jan. 4 and 5 involving top law enforcement officials; and
• Any records regarding the granting of Secret Service protection to Rudy Giuliani and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during their participation at the rally preceding the attack.

The Jan. 6 attack isn’t the only consequence of the Big Lie that Trump allies are trying to shield from public scrutiny — namely, the problematic election reviews that have been undertaken in multiple states:

• Last week, in another victory for transparency in American Oversight’s lawsuit, an Arizona judge rejected the state Senate’s blanket use of legislative privilege to withhold records related to the partisan “audit” of Maricopa County. Within days, the Senate filed a motion to stay the ruling pending appeal.
• Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has insisted on the need for keeping documents from the Assembly’s partisan election investigation secret — despite a clear legal standard and a judge ruling earlier this month in our lawsuit that Vos and the Assembly had to immediately release records or show cause. (Their response is due this week; be sure to check our website for updates.)
• The Pennsylvania Senate is working on its own partisan “audit.” As the Pennsylvania Capital-Star wrote this week: “The Republican state senator leading the Pennsylvania election investigation promised a transparent process, but negotiations with potential vendors are happening behind closed doors.”

The Latest from Wisconsin

On Monday, American Oversight filed its second lawsuit for records from Wisconsin’s election investigation, this one against Vos, who has failed to release related communications as well as documents that could shed light on the probe’s operations and management.

• Not only did Vos defend keeping the records from the public, he also said that he wasn’t aware of all that Michael Gableman, the attorney leading the review, has been working on. As we talked about last week, Gableman also has reportedly not been working with the Assembly committee he is supposed to be working with.
• Gableman is receiving $11,000 a month for the investigation through December. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Vos did not rule out the possibility that Assembly leaders would increase Gableman’s budget.” Vos also defended Gableman’s professed lack of understanding “of how elections work.”
• In addition to the recounts that upheld the state’s 2020 election results, yet another review, this one by the Legislative Audit Bureau, released its findings on Friday. The report found that voting machines worked properly, and said that the Wisconsin Elections Commission should adopt formal rules for ballot drop boxes — a move that would “clear the way for lawmakers to bar their use,” as reported by the Journal Sentinel.

The Latest from Pennsylvania

On Thursday, American Oversight obtained records from Fulton County regarding a problematic “audit” that was conducted on Dec. 31, 2020. It was first reported on in the spring, and was an early example of the kind of conspiracy-driven election reviews that have since taken off across the country.

• The records comprise various related communications, including text messages exchanged by county commissioners following the “audit.”
• Those texts revealed that state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a prominent Trump ally who had initially been leading the charge for the statewide “forensic investigation,” may have threatened the county officials with a subpoena should they not voluntarily cooperate with a review.
• The review was conducted by Wake TSI, a company that was also involved in the botched Arizona Senate “audit.”

The Latest from Texas

We’ve also been investigating the “forensic audit” of four counties, announced earlier this month by the Texas secretary of state’s office.

• On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed a new secretary of state: John Scott, a lawyer who represented Trump in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the election results.
• A bill in the Texas Legislature that would have made it easier to request an election audit is “all but dead,” according to the Houston Chronicle. The bill was pushed by Trump at the same time he was demanding that Abbott initiate a statewide audit.
• Meanwhile, Attorney General Paxton has announced the creation of a “2021 Election Integrity Unit.” We previously uncovered documents showing that Paxton’s 2020 unit had resolved only 16 relatively minor prosecutions while logging more than 22,000 staff hours.

Other Stories We’re Following

Election Audits

• Dozens of state lawmakers sign letter calling for MAGA audit of all 50 states (Talking Points Memo)
• Trump won Florida, but online and at your door, his supporters are trying to force an audit (Tampa Bay Times)
• Calls to audit Utah’s election fall flat as legislative committee takes no action (Salt Lake Tribune)

Jan. 6 and the Big Lie

• Trump is laying the groundwork to steal Michigan in 2024 (Rolling Stone)
• Inside a Trump-backed candidate’s leaky audit fiasco (Daily Beast)
• Top Trump fundraiser boasted of raising $3 million to support Jan. 6 ‘Save America’ rally (ProPublica)
• ‘His street cred went up’: The unintended consequences of outing the GOP lawmakers at Jan. 6 (Politico)
• Trump sues to block records requested by Jan. 6 committee (Washington Post)
• Publix heiress, funder of Jan. 6 rally, gave $150,000 to GOP attorneys general association (Washington Post)

The Coronavirus Pandemic

• The federal government gave billions to America’s schools for Covid-19 relief. Where did the money go? (ProPublica)
• In secret vaccine contracts with governments, Pfizer took hard line in push for profit, report says (Washington Post)
• FDA to allow ‘mix-and-match’ approach on coronavirus booster vaccines (Washington Post)
• Small needles, short lines and few tears: Biden’s plan to vaccinate young children (New York Times)
• As White House tries to finalize vaccine mandate, dozens of groups seek last-minute meetings (Washington Post)

National News

• New documents detail conflicts of interest DeJoy faced as post office head (NBC News)
• Senate Republicans block voting rights bill, leaving its fate in doubt (New York Times)
• Fed unveils stricter trading rules amid fallout from ethics scandal (New York Times)
• Caught in the crosshairs: AT&T political donations, deal with OAN draw it into culture wars (Dallas Morning News)
• Biden launches review that could ban copper mining near Minnesota wilderness area (Washington Post)

In the States

• Michigan Republicans pass voucher-style education bills that opponents say are unconstitutional (Michigan Advance)
• Oath Keepers in the State House: How a militia movement took root in the Republican mainstream (ProPublica)
• He’s South Dakota’s ‘most conservative lawmaker.’ Is he also an Oath Keeper? (Rolling Stone)
• Missouri governor vows criminal prosecution of reporter who found flaw in state website (Missouri Independent)
• Oil industry helped handpick members of Texas advisory group for electric grid reliability, emails show (Texas Tribune)
• Man behind ‘ghost’ candidate cash also led dark-money group supporting Florida’s big utility companies (Orlando Sentinel)
• With surgical precision, Texas Republicans draw two congressional districts that dilute power of Hispanic and Asian voters (Texas Tribune)
• GOP group’s apparent influence on Virginia redistricting map stirs mistrust on commission (Washington Post)

Immigration

• Trump’s Pentagon chief quashed idea to send 250,000 troops to the border (New York Times)
• A leaked U.S. government report documents how people with medical conditions and disabilities were forced into the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program (BuzzFeed News)
• ‘It should not have happened’: Asylum officers detail migrants’ accounts of abuse (New York Times)
• Border arrests have soared to highest levels since 1986, new CBP data shows (Washington Post)