American Oversight

When Records Vanish, So Does Accountability More on auto-deleting apps at DOJ and our investigation into ICE’s partnership with local police.

We’re continuing to investigate auto-deleting apps at DOJ and ICE’s expanding partnerships with local police.

Never miss an update on our fight for accountability. Read and subscribe to our newsletter:
americanoversight.org/newsletter/w...

Lawsuit Spurs DHS Notice to Noem, Other Top Officials Demanding Proper Records Preservation DHS now says it has instructed officials to preserve their communication records.

We filed suit after DHS told us it no longer maintained top officials’ text records. This week, we revealed the agency has now told officials to preserve records that “relate to the subject matter” of our case.
americanoversight.org/lawsuit-spur...

American Oversight Sues FHFA for Records on Weaponization of Agency Against Fed’s Independence, Targeting of Lisa Cook - American Oversight Our lawsuit seeks transparency as White House campaign to strong-arm the Fed takes an unprecedented turn.

The FHFA is accusing some of the president’s critics of mortgage fraud.

We need to know if the White House and FHFA are coordinating on these mortgage investigations.

So we sued for records.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...

FOIAs to USDA and FNS for External Communications with Retailers and Special Interest Groups on SNAP Retailer Notice Records requests to the U.S Department of Agriculture and the Food and Nutrition Service seeking external communications on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program retailer notice, including…

During the government shutdown, SNAP’s website warned food retailers against offering discounts to people paying with SNAP benefits.

So we filed FOIA requests for info about how the Trump administration handled these vital food benefits.
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Border Czar Tom Homan allegedly accepted a $50,000 bribe in an FBI sting operation last year. Then Trump’s DOJ closed the investigation. Why?

We requested witness interviews, communications, and other records related to the closed investigation to uncover the truth.

American Oversight Sues DOJ and FBI for Records of Any Trump Interviews in Epstein Investigation - American Oversight We’re challenging the FBI’s refusal to confirm whether President Trump was interviewed.

A new law requires the Epstein files be released within a month. Americans deserve the full story.

That’s why we sued the DOJ and FBI for records of interviews with Trump related to the Epstein investigation.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...

Lawsuit Spurs DHS Notice to Noem, Other Top Officials Demanding Proper Records Preservation DHS now says it has instructed officials to preserve their communication records.

DHS told us it no longer maintains top officials’ text records, so last month we sued to demand accountability and ensure those records are preserved.

Now, DHS has told top officials to preserve records that “relate to the subject matter” of our lawsuit.
americanoversight.org/lawsuit-spur...

When Records Vanish, So Does Accountability More on auto-deleting apps at DOJ and our investigation into ICE’s partnership with local police.

This week, we demanded urgent action to stop DOJ officials from using personal devices and auto-deleting messaging apps for government business, and requested more information about ICE’s partnership with local law enforcement.

Learn more in our newsletter: americanoversight.org/newsletter/w...

American Oversight Demands Urgent Action Amid Claims Ed Martin — Trump’s DOJ “Chief Enforcer” — Used Auto-Deleting Apps - American Oversight We demanded urgent recovery and preservation following reports the head of DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group conducted government business in the shadows.

Ed Martin — Trump’s “chief enforcer” — is reportedly using personal devices and auto-deleting apps to skirt records preservation laws.

He cannot dodge oversight and accountability.

DOJ and NARA must act to recover records.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...

FOIAs to USDA and FNS for External Communications with Retailers and Special Interest Groups on SNAP Retailer Notice Records requests to the U.S Department of Agriculture and the Food and Nutrition Service seeking external communications on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program retailer notice, including…

During the shutdown, SNAP’s website reportedly warned food retailers against offering discounts to people paying with SNAP benefits.

Last week, we filed FOIA requests for info about how the Trump administration handled these vital food benefits.
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Image of a public records request.

We also filed additional requests that could shed light on mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James. We asked for communications and key memos relating to her indictment.

The FHFA has launched allegations of mortgage fraud against at least four of Trump’s perceived political opponents.

We need to know if the White House and FHFA are coordinating.

We sued for records that could shed light on these attacks.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...

The records show “no plan, no foresight and no concern for the human cost of its own chaos,” our Executive Director Chioma Chukwu told the Times.

Read what else we learned from the documents:
americanoversight.org/what-records...

We obtained records, reported on by the New York Times, that provide details about the Trump administration’s use of Guantánamo Bay to detain immigrants. The documents show bleak conditions and that ICE was unprepared for detainees.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...

New docs show DHS is gathering driver's license data in voter fraud crusade Experts worry the Trump administration will use the info to disenfranchise voters.

Records we obtained show that the Trump admin is considering using drivers’ license info in its national data system.

This system could remove properly registered voters from the rolls. It would also hold a large volume of personal data without safeguards.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

If Martin is conducting government business in secret, “it would shield politically driven actions from scrutiny, undermine safeguards meant to prevent abuse of power, and threaten the integrity of our justice system,” executive director Chioma Chuwku said.

This year, the Weaponization Working Group undertook investigations targeting figures who had previously held Trump and his allies to account, including NY AG General Letitia James and Senator Adam Schiff.
www.ms.now/top-stories/...

Following explosive allegations publicly detailed in a letter from Rep. Jamie Raskin, we sent letters to AG Pam Bondi and NARA Acting Archivist Marco Rubio demanding urgent action to recover any missing records and to prevent further destruction.

Ed Martin leads DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group that is going after Trump’s perceived enemies.

He’s reportedly evading accountability by concealing his communications related to the group’s activities.

We demanded DOJ and NARA recover these records.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...

Emails suggest that a Trump-friendly business is getting special treatment from the government Emails show a Trump official intervening to help a Florida business owner who has been pictured with the president.

Records we obtained reveal the Small Business Administration worked behind the scenes to help a pro-Trump weapons manufacturer when they were suffering from the president’s tariffs.
www.salon.com/2025/09/18/e...

American Oversight Investigating Potential Trump Administration Plans to Deploy Military, ICE at Polling Places - American Oversight We filed FOIA requests seeking records on possible 2026 election deployments to intimidate voters.

We recently launched an investigation into whether the Trump administration is planning to deploy military or ICE personnel to polling places during the 2026 midterms. That would intimidate voters — especially those who already face obstacles.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...

FOIAs to USDA and FNS for External Communications with Retailers and Special Interest Groups on SNAP Retailer Notice Records requests to the U.S Department of Agriculture and the Food and Nutrition Service seeking external communications on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program retailer notice, including…

During the shutdown, SNAP’s website reportedly warned food retailers against offering discounts to people paying with SNAP benefits.

We requested relevant policy documents to learn more about how the Trump administration handled these vital food benefits.
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

In August, we sued the FHFA for failing to release records that could shed light on the Trump administration’s unprecedented attempted firing of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook based on unfounded allegations of mortgage fraud. Read more here: americanoversight.org/american-ove...

Once again, the FHFA is alleging a Trump critic committed mortgage fraud. This is at least the fourth perceived political opponent FHFA has gone after recently.

We need to know if the White House and FHFA are coordinating so we sued.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

American Oversight Sues DOJ and FBI for Records of Any Trump Interviews in Epstein Investigation - American Oversight We’re challenging the FBI’s refusal to confirm whether President Trump was interviewed.

As more information comes to light about Donald Trump’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein, a friendly reminder that we sued the DOJ and FBI for records of interviews with Trump related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...

What Records Tell Us About How ICE Is Using Guantánamo - American Oversight Documents we obtained show ICE was not prepared and that detainees — many of whom were not considered a public safety risk — protested bleak conditions.

This week, we published documents that provide details about the Trump administration’s use of Guantánamo Bay to detain immigrants. The shift reports show bleak conditions and that ICE was unprepared to handle detainees.
americanoversight.org/what-records...

Transparency is Non-Negotiable, from Georgia to Guantánamo More on the Georgia State Election Board’s records, what happened to SNAP during the shutdown, and how ICE is using the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.

This week, we reached a settlement requiring Georgia’s election board to preserve documents, and sent FOIA requests for info about SNAP benefits during the shutdown.

Never miss an update on our fight for accountability. Read and subscribe to our newsletter:
americanoversight.org/newsletter/t...

DHS Admits It Provided “Erroneous” Information on Texts of Noem and DHS Brass, Hasn’t Confirmed It Followed Law - American Oversight Thursday, following a court filing in American Oversight’s lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over the agency’s initial claim that it failed to preserve the text messages of…

In a court filing in our lawsuit, DHS revealed it stopped automatically archiving texts in April.

Instead, it’s relying on officials, like Sec. Noem, to take screenshots to preserve texts.

This leaves a lot of room for error.
americanoversight.org/dhs-admits-i...

“There’s no transparency, no clear explanation of how this data will be used, and no apparent safeguards against the inevitable errors and discrimination this kind of effort invites,” our executive director Chioma Chukwu said.

The system — which could easily be misused to make it harder for people to vote — already contains Americans’ data from multiple state and federal sources. The Trump admin has also discussed integrating a law enforcement database with driver’s license info from every state.