What Is Trump Fighting So Hard to Hide?
More on our appeal for DOJ’s full report on Trump’s mishandling of classified docs, our investigation into his harmful economic policies, and how we’re using FOIA to keep tabs on ICE.
Donald Trump does not want the public to see the Justice Department’s full report on his mishandling of classified documents after his first term — but we’re fighting back. This week, we appealed a ruling by Judge Aileen Cannon that barred us from participating in the criminal case to argue for the full release of the report.
We also filed a motion, in partnership with the press freedom watchdog Knight First Amendment Institute, that seeks to prevent Cannon from ruling on motions that Trump and his co-conspirators filed last month. Both Trump and his allies have asked the court to keep the second half of the report permanently under seal or require its destruction. We asked for the case to be paused while the appeals court rules on our motion.
The first half of Smith’s report, released over a year ago, highlights powerful evidence that Trump unlawfully attempted to overturn the 2020 election results and intentionally kept classified information after leaving office. The public deserves to know what else the investigation uncovered about how the president put national security at risk. We won’t let Trump and his allies bury that information.
Trump’s self-serving economic policy
Trump made a lot of promises about the economy during his 2024 campaign, but so far his policies — tariffs, tax breaks, and cuts to government programs — have boosted profits for the ultra-wealthy while making things harder for everyday Americans.
We’re using FOIA to find out who is benefitting, how much, and at what cost to average people.
We requested information about how the tariffs will impact everyday costs for American consumers and workers, especially farmers. We also asked about Trump’s tariff exemptions to see whether companies operated by his supporters were spared from the harsh policies. Last year, we obtained records that suggest the Small Business Administration had worked behind the scenes to try to mitigate the damaging impact of the tariffs on a politically sympathetic weapons manufacturer.
We’re also seeking more information about the DOGE teams Trump installed across federal agencies, including about their access to Americans’ personal and financial information. Just this week, a new House Oversight and Government Reform Committee report found that DOGE weakened or ended “programs and services that the American people rely on and endanger[ed] privacy and public safety while President Trump and his billionaire friends line their own pockets.”
Read more about how we’re investigating the harms caused by Trump’s economic policies.
On the records
What happens after ICE leaves Minneapolis
The Trump administration is reportedly reducing federal immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis, after two months of violence that claimed the lives of at least two individuals.
We still need to know more about what happened behind the scenes during the ICE surge. We’ve filed more than a dozen FOIA requests to find out more about the agency’s communications, coordination, and policies, including in the wake of federal agents’ murders of Renée Good and Alex Pretti.
After an ICE agent killed Good, the Justice Department opened an investigation into her widow’s connections to activist groups. Some agency personnel resigned in protest. We filed FOIA requests for their resignation letters to shed light on the agency’s politicized investigations under Trump.
We also requested top DHS, ICE, and Customs and Border Patrol officials’ communications sent in the days after another agent killed Alex Pretti, as well as any guidance or directives immigration agents in Minnesota were given following Pretti’s death.
American Oversight in the news
- Cannon faces fresh appellate review of her pro-Trump actions on Jack Smith report (MS Now)
- Conservative activists want to use software with controversial origins to check NC’s voter rolls (NC Newsline)
Other stories we’re following
- “Not ready for prime time.” A federal tool to check voter citizenship keeps making mistakes. (ProPublica)
- The FBI seizure of Georgia 2020 election ballots relies on debunked claims (NPR)
- House passes SAVE America Act, sending Trump-backed election bill to the Senate (NBC News)
- Lawyers of Chicago woman shot by federal agents say documents show how DHS lies about investigations (Associated Press)