WASHINGTON, D.C. February 1, 2023 — In an egregious attempt to evade accountability and hide the truth from the public, the Arizona Legislature last week implemented rule changes that instruct lawmakers to delete communications, thus allowing them to avoid releasing documents under the state’s public records law. Had these rules existed in 2021, the public would […]
American Oversight
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American Oversight Sues for Records of Trump Administration’s Attempted Saudi Nuclear Deal
Washington, DC, April 27, 2022 – Today, nonpartisan watchdog group American Oversight sued the CIA and State Department for failing to release records related to efforts to share nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia during the Trump administration. Statement from Melanie Sloan, Senior Advisor at American Oversight “Future historians inevitably will debate whether the ‘Trump Doctrine’ was driven by corruption […]
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Judge Orders Cyber Ninjas CEO to Sit for Deposition
Phoenix, Ariz. January 18, 2022 – An Arizona judge today ordered election “audit” contractor Cyber Ninjas and its CEO, Doug Logan, to answer questions under oath from ethics watchdog American Oversight regarding the company’s failure to turn over documents related to the Arizona Senate’s partisan election review. In the order issued on Tuesday afternoon, Judge […]
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Court Orders Depositions of WI Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Counsel in Lawsuit Seeking Public Release of Election Investigation Records
Madison, Wis. January 4, 2022 – A Dane County Circuit Court judge today ordered Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and his staff attorney, Steve Fawcett, to answer questions under oath from nonpartisan ethics watchdog group American Oversight regarding the failure to release public records related to the Assembly’s ongoing, partisan investigation of the 2020 election. […]
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American Oversight Issues Deposition Notice for Cyber Ninjas CEO
Phoenix, Ariz. December 16, 2021– Today, nonpartisan watchdog group American Oversight issued a deposition notice for Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan, directing him to answer questions under oath about the company’s failure to release records from the Arizona Senate’s partisan election review. The move comes hours after the court granted a request to formally add Cyber Ninjas — the […]
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Watchdog Sues to Release Trump DOJ and DHS Contacts with Fox News Personalities and Other ‘Big Lie’ Proponents Surrounding Jan. 6 Attack
December 15, 2021 – Nonpartisan ethics watchdog American Oversight today sued the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to compel the release of documents including any communications that top Trump administration officials may have had with Fox News, the Trump campaign, or other proponents of the “Big Lie” in the weeks surrounding the Jan. 6, […]
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American Oversight Launches Investigation into Texas Election Audits
Today, nonpartisan watchdog group American Oversight launched an open records investigation into Texas’ recently announced “forensic audit” of the 2020 election in Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, and Collin counties. American Oversight’s ongoing investigation into the “audit” in Arizona has already forced the public release of more than 80,000 pages of records, including emails revealing extensive partisan […]
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American Oversight Sues Defense Department for Top Officials’ Calendars and Communications, Including Related to Jan. 6 Attack
On Wednesday, nonpartisan watchdog group American Oversight sued the Department of Defense for failing to release requested documents that could shed light on the events of January 6 and efforts by former President Trump to staff the department with loyalists. The lawsuit, filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), seeks to compel the release of top officials’ […]
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Court Orders Arizona Senate to Immediately Release “Audit” Records
Phoenix, AZ, August 3, 2021 – Today, Judge Michael Kemp of the Arizona Superior Court of Maricopa County ordered the state Senate to comply with the law and “immediately” provide American Oversight access to records related to the Senate’s partisan audit of Maricopa County ballots. Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight, released the following […]
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American Oversight Releases Preliminary Report on Arizona “Audit”
Today, American Oversight released initial findings from its open records investigation of the Arizona Senate’s partisan “audit” of Maricopa County’s 2020 presidential election. Drawing from the hundreds of pages of documents and emails uncovered by American Oversight, as well as public reporting, the report identifies key issues that undermine the credibility of the audit effort. […]
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Court Rejects Arizona Senate’s Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit Seeking Election Audit Records
Phoenix, AZ, July 15, 2021 – The Arizona Superior Court in Maricopa County today rejected an attempt by the Arizona Senate to dismiss American Oversight’s public records lawsuit seeking the release of documents related to the “audit” of ballots cast in Maricopa County in the 2020 presidential election. In a seven-page ruling dismissing the motion, […]
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Judge Sets Hearing Date in American Oversight’s Audit Litigation
Washington, DC – An initial hearing is scheduled for this Thursday, May 27, in American Oversight’s public records suit against the Arizona Senate. The lawsuit, filed by the watchdog group on May 19, is seeking the release of key documents related to the Arizona Senate’s audit of ballots cast in Maricopa County. “With the audit resuming this […]
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Watchdog Group Demands Records of Sec. Raffensperger, Gov. Kemp Communications with White House and Trump Lawyers
January 5, 2021 – Nonprofit ethics watchdog group American Oversight today submitted requests demanding the release of records reflecting communications between Georgia state officials and the White House or Trump lawyers, including emails about the January 2, 2021, call between Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and President Donald Trump, in which the president pressured Raffensperger […]
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Without answers or documents on Barrett, the Senate is not engaged in an advice and consent process, say American Oversight
Washington, DC, October 15, 2020 – Today the Senate Judiciary Committee concluded its final day of hearings in the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Below is a statement from Austin Evers, executive director at American Oversight. “After a historically rushed hearing process, we know almost nothing about Judge Coney […]
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Watchdog Sues Kentucky AG for Records Related to Ballot Integrity Task Force
Frankfort, KY, Sept. 22, 2020 – Nonpartisan ethics watchdog American Oversight today sued the Office of the Attorney General in Kentucky through counsel Strobo Barkley PLLC for failing to release public records related to the Ballot Integrity Task Force, a newly launched partnership between state election officials and law enforcement aimed at investigating and deterring […]
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Watchdog Groups Request Information from HHS, DOD on COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts
September 15, 2020 – American Oversight and two other watchdog groups are calling for the federal government to publicly release copies of the coronavirus vaccine development contracts signed with pharmaceutical companies that have received federal funding. Along with Accountable Pharma and Lower Drug Prices Now, we filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the Departments […]
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Watchdog Sues to Release Records of Federal Protest Crackdown
Washington, DC August 10, 2020 – Nonpartisan ethics watchdog American Oversight sued six federal agencies to compel the public release of key documents relating to the Trump administration’s crackdown on protests against police brutality across the country, including the violent removal of peaceful demonstrators from Lafayette Square in Washington, DC. “Rubber bullets and tear gas […]
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Watchdog Sues Trump Administration for Documentation of Detention Center Covid Response
May 21, 2020 – American Oversight sued the Trump administration on Thursday for failing to release documents regarding the federal government’s response to the coronavirus and its impact on vulnerable populations in prisons and immigration detention centers. Prisons and immigration detention centers, like cruise ships and nursing homes, are prone to outbreaks of disease given the close […]
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American Oversight Investigating Firing of State Department Watchdog
Washington, DC May 18, 2020 – On Friday, May 15, the president gave Congress notice that he intended to fire State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, the independent watchdog tasked with overseeing the department. According to reporting by the New York Times, the White House official cited Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s private urging as a […]
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Watchdog Calls on DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility to Investigate Interim DC US Attorney Timothy Shea
Washington, DC, May 13, 2020 – Today, the public interest government watchdog group American Oversight submitted a complaint to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) regarding Timothy Shea, the Interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. The complaint asks OPR to investigate whether Shea violated bar rules and DOJ […]