Covid-19 Public Documents & Reports

Witness testimony, reports, government records, and more — read the key documents produced by the Covid-19 oversight investigations conducted by Congress, inspectors general, and outside watchdogs.

The Public Documents and Reports database collects the key primary source documents and reports produced by the oversight inquiries into the Covid-19 response. More information about the ongoing investigations themselves can be found in the Oversight Tracker, and you can view all of the priority issues that American Oversight is investigating in the Covid-19 Oversight Hub.

This database allows you to filter by Type (reports; tools; transcripts or testimony) and Source (inspectors general; watchdog organizations; news publications).

You can also filter and sort by Topic:

• Business and Industry (meat-packing plants; workplace safety; restaurant reopenings; etc.)
• Communications Management (misinformation; messaging control; etc.)
• Elections and Campaigns
• Federal Management
• Immigration and Border Issues
• Influence and Access in Pandemic Response (private businesses, outside entities with sway over decisions)
• Medical Supplies and PPE
• Political Opportunism (using pandemic to push immigration restrictions; etc.)
• Relief Funds and Loans
• State and Federal Coordination
• State Issues (actions of individual states and cities)
• Testing
• Trump Family Business
• Vulnerable Populations (prisons; detention centers; nursing homes; etc.)
• Vaccines and Treatments

Return to the Covid-19 Oversight Hub
Date Title Topic(s)
04/09/2021
Documents: Trump Administration Officials Influenced CDC MMWRs, Attacked CDC Guidance for Schools, and Pushed “Herd Immunity” Strategy
Source: House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
Type: Documents
Communications Management, Education, Federal Management, Influence and Access in Pandemic Response, Political Opportunism

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released documents obtained as part of its ongoing investigation into the Trump administration’s political interference with Covid-19 response and haphazard efforts to obtain critical medical supplies. The documents included communications illustrating Trump administration officials bragging about influencing the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR), attacking CDC’s guidance for schools and universities, and pushing a “herd immunity” strategy to combat the virus. The documents also showed that Trump administration officials often used personal email accounts for government work. The acquisition and release of these documents prompted the Select Subcommittee to send letters to Paul Alexander (former HHS senior adviser), Scott Atlas (former special adviser to the president), and Steven Hatfill (former adviser to Assistant to the President Peter Navarro) requesting documents and transcribed interviews regarding their roles in the Trump administration’s pandemic response.

Released By

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
03/31/2021
Documents: New Evidence of Trump Administration’s Failure to Address Supply Shortages
Source: House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
Type: Documents
Communications Management, Federal Management, Medical Supplies and PPE

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released documents obtained during its ongoing investigation into the Trump administration’s efforts to procure and distribute PPE and other supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic. The documents provided evidence that: President Trump failed to heed an urgent warning from then-Assistant to the President Peter Navarro about the virus; White House officials pursued an ineffective and ad hoc approach to supply contracts; and the administration relied on outside advisers rather than career professionals to arrange contracts. In addition to releasing the documents it obtained, the Select Subcommittee also sent letters to Archivist of the United States David Ferriero, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton. The new documents released included a memo from Peter Navarro to Trump, documents from Phlow Corporation, documents from Eastman Kodak Company, and documents from AirBoss Defense Group: https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/PHLOW_SSCC_0017388_Redacted.pdf; https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/FINAL%20PHLOW%20COMPILED.pdf; https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/documents/FINAL_KODAK_COMPILED.pdf; https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/FINAL%20AirBoss%20Compiled%202.pdf

Released By

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
03/21/2021
Documents: CDC Daily or Weekly Internal Situation Reports Relating or Referring to Covid-19 from Jan. 1, 2020, Through Date of Search
Source: Jason Leopold (Buzzfeed News)
Type: Documents
Federal Management

Buzzfeed News reporter Jason Leopold obtained nearly 1,100 pages worth of records responsive to his April 6, 2020, FOIA request: “All daily and/or weekly internal situation reports relating to or referring to Coronavirus/Covid-19. The timeframe for this request is January 1, 2020, through the date the search for responsive records is conducted.”

Released By

Jason Leopold (Buzzfeed News)
02/08/2021
Documents: Select Subcommittee Releases New Evidence Of Trump Administration’s Political Meddling In Coronavirus Guidance, Testing And Treatments
Source: House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
Type: Documents
Communications Management, Federal Management, Testing

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released documents it obtained detailing evidence of the Trump administration’s political meddling in Covid-19 guidance, testing, and treatments. Communications obtained by the subcommittee from White House officials, HHS, CDC, and others showed that the Trump administration: weakened CDC testing guidance to hide evidence of positive tests while promoting reopening the country; manipulated public health information by changing scientific reports that were considered politically damaging to President Trump; and pressed FDA to approve treatments like hydroxychloroquine, despite objections from career scientists. The release of the documents was accompanied by letters sent to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and Acting HHS Secretary Norris Cochran: https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/2021-02-08.Clyburn%20to%20Klain%20re%20WH%20Failures%20on%20Pandemic%20.pdf; https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/2021-02-08.Clyburn%20to%20Cochran%20re%20WH%20Failures%20on%20Pandemic%20.pdf

Released By

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
01/11/2021
Documents: Final Response from OSC to American Oversight’s Request for Whistleblower Complaints Related to Covid-19 Pandemic and Federal Government’s Response
Source: U.S. Office of Special Counsel
Type: Documents
Federal Management

American Oversight (AO) received a final response from the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) from a May 11, 2020, request asking for information regarding 31 whistleblower complaints received by OSC related to the Covid-19 pandemic and/or the federal government’s response to the pandemic from Jan. 1 to May 5, 2020. In response, OSC submitted to AO nine pages of spreadsheets containing information about the relevant agencies, case synopses, the dates cases were opened and closed, details of the allegations, and closing dispositions. The spreadsheets included 142 complaints from March to November 2020 submitted to a wide range of federal agencies, with complaints categorized as “mismanagement,” “abuse of authority,” “public safety,” “public health,” “law,” “rule,” and “waste.” However, much of the content in the allegations, including the dates in which the cases were opened, were redacted by OSC. Notably, the number of complaints at the time of AO’s FOIA request (31) was a markedly lower than the number of complaints that OSC ended up receiving by November 2020 (142).

Released By

U.S. Office of Special Counsel
10/06/2020
Document: Emergency Use Authorization for Vaccines to Prevent Covid-19: Guidance for Industry
Source: Food and Drug Administration
Type: Documents
Communications Management, Vaccines and Treatments

The FDA released its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) standards for prospective Covid-19 vaccines on Oct. 6, 2020. The stricter standards were released after American Oversight filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking these guidelines. The new guidelines were published in the face of threats from the White House to block their release.

Released By

American Oversight
09/30/2020
Documents: FEMA Records Regarding National Stockpile Shipments of Medical Supplies to States
Source: Federal Emergency Management Administration
Type: Documents
Medical Supplies and PPE, State and Federal Coordination

American Oversight obtained records from FEMA detailing Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) quantities and supplies. FEMA sent these documents in response to American Oversight’s public records request seeking SNS shipments of medical supplies to states in response to Covid-19.

Released By

American Oversight
09/23/2020
Document: USPS Communications of Postmaster General Brennan Containing Key Terms
Source: U.S. Postal Service
Type: Documents
Elections and Campaigns, Political Opportunism

In response to American Oversight’s FOIA request, the U.S. Postal Service released nearly 10,000 pages of records on Aug. 21, 2020. The request was for the communications of Postmaster General Megan Brennan containing key terms related to possible political interference in USPS operations; the communications surrounded agency loans, the USPS Board of Governors, and Covid-19. On Sept. 17, after the documents had been posted publicly and had been discussed in multiple news reports, USPS requested that American Oversight remove the file from its website. Following conversations with USPS, American Oversight reposted a copy of the file that includes redactions requested by the agency on a limited number of pages. However, pages detailing issues that were the subject of public reporting remain un-redacted.

Released By

American Oversight
09/09/2020
SBA and Pandemic Loan Fraud
Source: Project on Government Oversight
Type: Documents
Relief Funds and Loans

Internal Small Business Administration (SBA) emails showed the agency enacting key anti-fraud controls in its Economic Injury Disaster Loan program in late July through mid-August after $160 billion had already been disbursed. Emails obtained by Project on Government Oversight cast doubt on SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza’s July 23 statement to the inspector general that SBA was “doing all it can to reduce the risk of fraud on the loan side.”

Released By

Project on Government Oversight
08/09/2020
White House Coronavirus Task Force Report (Aug. 9, 2020)
Source: White House Coronavirus Task Force
Type: Documents
Federal Management, State and Federal Coordination

The White House Coronavirus Task Force’s August 9, 2020, report (released on Aug. 31). The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis noted that the report’s contents contradict public statements by the White House and include confirmed cases and deaths (both per 100,000), total tests (per 100,000), and positivity rate. The task force noted that 48 states and Washington, DC, were in either the red or yellow zones; Indiana was highlighted as needing mitigation efforts, testing, and contact tracing to be implemented aggressively.

Released By

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
08/02/2020
White House Coronavirus Task Force Report (Aug. 2, 2020)
Source: White House Coronavirus Task Force
Type: Documents
Federal Management, State and Federal Coordination

The White House Coronavirus Task Force’s Aug. 2, 2020 report (released Aug. 31). The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis noted that the report’s contents contradict public statements by the White House. The report captures information including confirmed cases and deaths (both per 100,000), total tests (per 100,000), and positivity rate. In this report, the Task Force noted that 23 states were in the “red zone”; widespread transmission from rural to urban areas was occurring in Louisiana; an aggressive continuation of mitigation efforts would need to occur in South Carolina to control spread across the state; and the virus was spreading deeper into rural Oklahoma.

Released By

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
07/26/2020
White House Coronavirus Task Force Report (July 26, 2020)
Source: White House Coronavirus Task Force
Type: Documents
Federal Management, State and Federal Coordination

The White House Coronavirus Task Force’s July 26, 2020, report (released Aug. 31). The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis noted that the report’s contents contradict public statements by the White House. The report captures information including confirmed cases and deaths (both per 100,000), total tests (per 100,000), and positivity rate. In this report, the task force noted that 22 states were in the “red zone,” and that Georgia continued to see wide community spread without signs of improvement.

Released By

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
07/19/2020
White House Coronavirus Task Force Report (July 19, 2020)
Source: White House Coronavirus Task Force
Type: Documents
Federal Management, State and Federal Coordination

The White House Coronavirus Task Force’s July 19, 2020, report (released Aug. 31). The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis notes that the report’s contents contradict public statements by the White House. The report captures information including confirmed cases and deaths (both per 100,000), total tests (per 100,000), and positivity rate. In this report, the task force noted that 20 states were in the “red zone,” and that South Carolina in particular was seeing broad community spread across the state.

Released By

Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
07/14/2020
White House Coronavirus Task Force Report (July 14, 2020)
Source: White House Coronavirus Task Force
Type: Documents
Federal Management, State and Federal Coordination

The White House Coronavirus Task Force’s July 14, 2020, report released Aug. 31). The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis noted that the report’s contents contradict public statements by the White House. The report captures information including confirmed cases and deaths (both per 100,000), total tests (per 100,000), and positivity rate. In this report, the task force noted that 19 states were in the “red zone,” and that Georgia in particular was facing record numbers of new cases in urban, suburban, and rural areas.

Released By

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
07/05/2020
White House Coronavirus Task Force Report (July 5, 2020)
Source: White House Coronavirus Task Force
Type: Documents
Federal Management, State and Federal Coordination

The White House Coronavirus Task Force’s July 5, 2020, report (released Aug. 31). The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis noted that the report’s contents contradict public statements by the White House. The Task Force’s report captures information including confirmed cases and deaths (both per 100,000), total tests (per 100,000), and positivity rate. In this report, the task force noted that 15 states were in the “red zone,” and that Florida in particular was seeing a “significant increase” in new cases.

Released By

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
06/29/2020
White House Coronavirus Task Force Report (June 29, 2020)
Source: White House Coronavirus Task Force
Type: Documents
Federal Management, State and Federal Coordination

The White House Coronavirus Task Force’s June 29, 2020, report (released Aug. 31). The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis noted that the report’s contents contradict public statements by the White House. The report captures information including confirmed cases and deaths (both per 100,000), total tests (per 100,000), and positivity rate. In this report, the task force noted that ten states were in the “red zone,” with “significant” increases in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.

Released By

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
06/23/2020
White House Coronavirus Task Force Report (June 23, 2020)
Source: White House Coronavirus Task Force
Type: Documents
Federal Management, State and Federal Coordination

The White House Coronavirus Task Force’s June 23, 2020, report (released Aug. 31). The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis noted that the report’s contents contradict public statements by the White House. The report captures information including confirmed cases and deaths (both per 100,000), total tests (per 100,000), and positivity rate. The report noted that seven states were in the “red zone” (highest risk of Covid-19 spread) and increases in positive cases were seen in Arizona, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Idaho.

Released By

House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
05/22/2020
Improving Health Coverage in Response to Covid-19
Source: Congress
Type: Documents
Vulnerable Populations

Sens. Ron Wyden, Jeanne Shaheen, Tina Smith, and Patty Murray released a white paper outlining a series of legislative priorities including expanding premium support through subsidies and tax credits, incentivizing Medicaid expansion in hold-out states, and a special open enrollment period, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Their proposal also calls for all Covid-19 treatment costs to be covered, including for the uninsured. The proposal has the support of 33 Senate Democrats.

Released By

Senate Democrats
05/14/2020
50 States Open Records Project: Idaho
Source: Idaho
Type: Documents
State and Federal Coordination, State Issues

Independent watchdog group Accountable.us filed open records requests in all U.S. states and territories to understand how the Trump administration hindered the states’ ability to adequately respond to the pandemic. These are the documents from Idaho.

Released By

Accountable.us
04/24/2020
50 States Open Records Project: Oregon
Source: Oregon
Type: Documents
State and Federal Coordination, State Issues

Independent watchdog group Accountable.us filed open records requests in all U.S. states and territories to understand how the Trump administration hindered the states’ ability to adequately respond to the pandemic. These are the documents from Oregon.

Released By

Accountable.us
04/06/2020
Document: PPE Distribution
Source: Rep. Carolyn Maloney
Type: Documents
Medical Supplies and PPE

Rep. Carolyn Maloney released a new document from HHS showing that the administration had failed to distribute sufficient PPE to states and that PPE was not distributed in accordance with state requests.

04/01/2020
50 States Open Records Project: Georgia
Source: Georgia
Type: Documents
State and Federal Coordination, State Issues

Independent watchdog group Accountable.us filed open records requests in all US states and territories to understand how the Trump administration’s incompetence hindered the states’ ability to adequately respond to COVID-19. These are the documents from Georgia.

Released By

Accountable.us
03/01/2020
Document: USDA Human Pandemic Operations Plan
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Type: Documents
Federal Management

In response to American Oversight’s request, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) produced its March 2020 “Human Pandemic Operations Plan,” a working document that addressed how USDA planned to protect the safety and health of FSIS employees and maintain essential FSIS functions and services during a pandemic.

Released By

American Oversight