What Do Federal Records and Voting Rights Have in Common?

When government officials conduct business on messaging platforms using auto-delete functions, they risk the destruction of crucial public records and erode the public’s trust in our democracy. The public has the right to know what the government is doing.

But Trump administration officials — who had ample opportunity to learn this lesson from the now-infamous Signalgate scandal — seemingly refuse to give up their use of non-official messaging applications for official government business.

According to new reporting published this week, Lindsey Halligan — Trump’s former personal lawyer whose status and authority as “interim” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia are being contested — messaged a journalist about an ongoing prosecution over Signal, using the auto-delete function. That conduct would constitute a clear violation of the Federal Records Act and the Department of Justice’s own records retention rules, which require all official communications be preserved. It also raises concerns that Halligen is attempting to hide the record of her actions. We’re investigating.

• This week, we sent the DOJ a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all of Halligan’s Signal messages related to official government work and sent or received after her appointment in September.
• Halligan’s messages to Lawfare reporter Anna Bower included information about her prosecution of New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of Trump’s perceived political enemies.
• In addition to leading the politically charged prosecution of James, Halligan has also spearheaded the Justice Department’s charges against former FBI Director James Comey, another longtime target of Trump’s ire.

Information has repeatedly come to light about the use of disappearing message applications by the Trump Administration to conduct official government business. That is both a testament to the importance of public information laws and proper records preservation, and demonstrates the administration’s stunning refusals to operate with transparency.

Demanding Info about Whether Trump Administration Plans to Deploy Military, ICE Officers to Polling Places

The public deserves to feel safe at voting locations. That’s why we launched a new investigation this week into whether the Trump administration is planning to deploy military or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel to polling places during the 2026 midterms — a move that would not only be potentially illegal, but would also risk intimidating voters from exercising their constitutional rights.

• We filed FOIA requests with ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the National Guard Bureau, and DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel to uncover any related directives, policies, or legal analyses.

• We also requested records related to ICE’s current recruitment blitz, in which the agency is offering $50,000 signing bonuses and spending millions on ads targeting law enforcement officers.
• We’re seeking the release of ICE’s communications and strategy documents regarding recruitment, as well as records reflecting its advertisement budget.

Before the 2020 election, Trump claimed he would send law enforcement officials to monitor polling sites. His recent deployment of National Guard troops to several American cities (against the wishes of state and local officials) also heightens concerns about the president’s seeming willingness to use his position to interfere in elections.

• Voter intimidation is illegal in every state.
• The presence of military or law enforcement at polling places risks chilling voter turnout and further harming public trust in elections. 

We Sued DHS After the Agency Said It Was No Longer Preserving Its Text Messages. Here’s Why That Matters.

In response to a FOIA request seeking Defense Secretary Kristi Noem’s communications, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told us in late August that it could not search for texts because it no longer maintained text message data — and hadn’t since April. Those admissions contradict DHS’s shifting explanations to the press.This week, we sued DHS, Noem, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and Acting Archivist Marco Rubio and asked for emergency court relief to preserve or recover these records.

• DHS said it stopped maintaining text messages in April — timing that appears to coincide with heightened public scrutiny of the department’s inhumane immigration enforcement actions, including the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
• DHS officials reportedly engaged in internal discussions about compliance with the Supreme Court’s orders during this period, including through text messages. 
• If the agency failed to preserve or produce those records, it would raise serious concerns that critical communications have been shielded from oversight and accountability.

Other Stories We’re Following

American Oversight in the News

• Watchdog urges preservation of records related to Halligan’s Signal chat (Lawfare)
• Top U.S. prosecutor’s use of text message auto-delete could be illegal, watchdog groups warn (Guardian)
• ICE is hiring dozens of health workers as lawsuits, deaths in custody mount (Politico)
• Georgia election board member accepted anonymous donations linked to ‘election integrity’ movement (Guardian)

Trump Administration Abuses of Power

• Trump said to demand Justice Dept. pay him $230 million for past cases (New York Times)
• Tom Homan and the case of the missing fifty thousand (New Yorker)
• Rubio promised to betray U.S. informants to get Trump’s El Salvador prison deal (Washington Post)
• Coast Guard buys two private jets for Noem, costing $172 million (New York Times)
• How Trump is using fake imagery to attack enemies and rouse supporters (New York Times)
• He accused DOGE of risking Social Security data. It cost him his career. (Washington Post)
• Trump empowers election deniers, still fixated on 2020 grievances (New York Times)

Voting Rights

• Trump pushes Indiana lawmakers to redraw state maps (New York Times)
• NC Republicans pass new congressional districts into law to boost GOP edge in U.S. House races (WRAL)
• State election panel recommends ending no-excuse absentee voting in Georgia (Georgia Recorder)

Immigration

• This county was the ‘model’ for local police carrying out immigration raids. It ended in civil rights violations. (ProPublica)
• Some new ICE recruits have shown up to training without full vetting (NBC News)
• ICE offered Dallas $25M to work with city police — and the police chief turned them down (KERA)

In the States

• Racine man charged with stalking Wisconsin Chief Justice Jill Karofsky (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman asks the NYPD to enforce state law against federal agents (MSNBC)
• Arizona AG sues over Speaker Mike Johnson refusing to seat new House member (Washington Post)
• State officials press for answers on delayed Helene recovery program (WUNC)

National News

• SNAP emerges as flash point in shutdown fight (The Hill)
• Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter charged with threatening Hakeem Jeffries (New York Times)
• The White House starts demolishing part of the East Wing to build Trump’s ballroom (NPR)
• Treasury tells employees not to share photos of White House ballroom construction (Wall Street Journal)
• Admiral overseeing operations in Caribbean Sea stepping down, Hegseth announces (ABC News)

Abortion and Reproductive Rights

• The war on Mifepristone: How junk science and false narratives threaten U.S. abortion access (Guttmacher Institute)
• Thousands travel to Maryland for abortions, but support is stretched thin (Baltimore Banner)

Threats to Education

• Trump administration seeks to move special education to different agency (Washington Post)
• This is ground zero in the conservative quest for more patriotic and Christian public schools (ProPublica)
• Massapequa schools sue NY state to preserve gender rules in bathrooms (New York Times)