Biden DOJ refuses to disclose ‘voting access’ election strategy
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is refusing to disclose its 15-page strategic plan to “promote voting access” in future elections. The department has denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the plan, citing executive privilege.
On March 7, 2021, Biden signed Executive Order 14019, which directs federal agencies to create certain election-related strategic plans. The EO aims to eliminate “obstacles” to voters “disproportionately burdened by voter identification laws and limited opportunities to vote by mail.”
“The head of each agency shall evaluate ways in which the agency can, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, promote voter registration and voter participation,” says the order.
On July 30, 2021, the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) submitted a FOIA request to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, asking for the department’s “strategic plan developed...outlining ways you identified for your agency to promote voter registration and voter participation, as directed by EO 14019.” The letter also requested all communications pertaining to the EO and/or the strategic plan.
The FGA was ignored.
Nine months later, with still no response from the Justice Department, the FGA sued the DOJ in federal district court on April 20, 2022. The court ordered the Justice Department to respond to the FOIA request by September 8th.
Last week, the DOJ finally responded to the FOIA request for the voting access plan, submitting 150 heavily redacted communications related to the executive order, which were mostly coordinating meetings between government staffers.
As for the strategic plan itself, the DOJ refused these 15 pages outright due to executive privilege:
“I have determined that these materials are to be withheld in full pursuant to Exemption 5 of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. §552(b)(5), which pertains to certain inter- and intra-agency records protected by civil discovery privileges, in this instance the deliberative process and presidential communications privileges,” wrote the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Freedom of Information Chief Kilian Kagle.
The Department of Justice appears to be increasing activity related to elections, though it is being decidedly secretive about details.
On Tuesday, the FBI conducted an offensive against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, in which they surrounded his car and seized his cell phone, according to the executive. The FBI said it is seeking “all records and information relating to damage to any Dominion computerized voting system.”
Lindell has been a strong Trump supporter and confidante, even after major retailers dropped his product last year following Lindell’s remarks doubting the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.
According to the New York Times, the FBI questioned the MyPillow CEO about his ties with Colorado County Clerk Tina Peters, who is being indicted by the Department of Justice for allegedly trying to download data from a Dominion voting machine after the 2020 election.
The search was reportedly based on “an image copied from a voting machine” in Mesa County, which was posted on a social media website, Frank Speech, operated by Lindell. There has been no accusation that Lindell himself posted the photo.
The Times says “it is not clear if Mr. Lindell is a target of the investigation.”
While the agents provided Lindell with a letter asking him not to discuss the investigation, Lindell read aloud from both the warrant and the letter on his livestream video Tuesday night.
