Polygraph

The Writing is Already on the Wall

Letters from an American, Checked

Polygraph score
85Holds up9 claims checked
Details
What it claims
2 mixed16 true
How it argues
Nothing found
How it persuades
Nothing found
What it’s built on
Distrust
Letters from an AmericanSep 13, 2026
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Letters from an American cover art
Letters from an AmericanThe Writing is Already on the WallWhole episode, 10:30
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18 claims4 places a technique or frame shows

What it claims

Claims

  1. 1TrueJudge J. Michael Luttig published a warning that Republicans could refuse to seat elected Democrats after the midterm elections.Multiple sources confirm that Judge J. Michael Luttig published a New Republic op-ed warning that House Republicans could refuse to seat elected Democrats in the January 2027 session after the midterms. The claim's wording matches the passage, and no source contradicts it.6 sources →
  2. 2TrueSpeaker Mike Johnson has the power to replace the current House clerk with a loyalist who could refuse to list Democrats on the roll of those elected to the 120th Congress.The sources support that the Speaker has the power to remove the House clerk: the CRS footnote says the Clerk may be removed by the House or the Speaker, and Luttig's account, repeated by Truthdig and Alternet, cites Rule II, Clause 1 for unilateral removal. The 'could refuse to list Democrats' element describes a hypothetical scenario that no source reports as having happened, and the 2026 coverage frames it as a warning, not an event. The claim is judged on the power, which is supported, and the refusal is treated as a capacity, not a checkable act; as of 2026-09-13 no replacement had occurred.5 sources →
  3. 3TrueDonald Trump's plan to use the US Postal Service to screen mailed-in votes is being tested in Florida.Sources show USPS screening of Florida mail-ballot materials under Trump's mail-voting plan: Leon County's envelope was rejected for spacing, and USPS backed down. The Portside post also reports a Florida test run, and the plan was blocked by courts, so the 'being tested' framing rests on thin, mostly unrated coverage.5 sources →

    ▶ 2:56

  4. 4MixedThe Supreme Court has an injunction blocking the USPS from implementing new rules.As of 2026-09-13, a preliminary injunction blocking USPS from enforcing its new mail-ballot rule was in place, but it was issued by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, not by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had not yet ruled on the government's stay request (it denied the stay on 2026-09-14), so the claim's attribution to the Supreme Court is wrong even though the injunction itself exists.5 sources →

    ▶ 3:53

  5. 5TrueThe Department of Justice under Donald Trump is threatening election workers to force them to put Trump's election changes into effect.Multiple tier-1 and tier-2 sources report that a federal judge found the DOJ and DHS were threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution to force them to set aside or stop processing ballots tied to the administration's noncitizen-voting demands, and ordered the threats stopped. The sources describe October 2026 conduct, not September, so the September 13 posting date is inferred rather than directly documented; the 'election changes' wording is a loose paraphrase of those ballot and roll demands.9 sources →
  6. 6TrueJudge J. Michael Luttig published a warning in The New Republic regarding how Republicans could refuse to seat elected Democrats in January 2027.Multiple independent outlets confirm that retired judge J. Michael Luttig wrote a New Republic essay warning that House Republicans could refuse to seat elected Democrats when the new Congress convenes on January 3, 2027. The post's date (September 12) and the essay's date (September 10, per several sources) differ, but that peripheral detail does not affect the core claim.6 sources →

    ▶ 0:07

  7. 7TrueHouse Speaker Mike Johnson has the power to remove the current House Clerk, Kevin McCumber, and replace him temporarily with a MAGA loyalist.Multiple sources, all tracing to Luttig's analysis and a Toobin column, report that the Speaker has unilateral power under House Rule II, Clause 1 to remove the clerk and under 2 U.S.C. § 5501(a) to replace him temporarily. The claim's 'MAGA loyalist' element describes a hypothetical scenario rather than the power itself, and the sources do not show that the power has been exercised or that a fact-checker has rated it. Confidence is capped because the sources restate the same legal analysis and no primary House Rules text is provided.7 sources →

    ▶ 1:14

  8. 8TrueSpeaker Mike Johnson told attendees at a convention in Dallas that they cannot and will not allow Democrats to take the majority in Congress.Multiple sources quote Johnson at the Dallas Republican midterm convention on September 10, 2026 saying 'We cannot and will not allow them to take the majority in Congress,' matching the claim's substance. Johnson's own office published the remarks, and several outlets carried the same quote, though the tier-1 AP and FactCheck.org snippets do not show the quote itself.7 sources →

    ▶ 2:40

  9. 9MixedThe United States Postal Service rejected mailed ballots from Leon County, Florida, because the words 'return service requested' were 0.236 inches from the return address, while the required distance was a quarter inch.The 0.236-inch spacing and the quarter-inch requirement are well supported, but the sources say USPS rejected Leon County's envelope design on Sept. 2 before any ballots were mailed, and it was accepted on appeal, so 'rejected mailed ballots' overstates what happened.5 sources →

    ▶ 3:05

  10. 10TrueThe Department of Justice under Donald Trump has sent threatening letters to at least 30 top election officials in the states warning them they are under investigation.The claim that the DOJ under Trump sent threatening letters to at least 30 top election officials warning they were under investigation is supported by the New York Times report of September 10, 2026, which other outlets including The Independent and The New Republic repeat with their own reporting. Later coverage shows the DOJ sent further letters to all 50 states in October and that a judge ordered the DOJ to stop threatening prosecutions, but those developments do not make the September claim false.8 sources →

    ▶ 4:10

  11. 11TrueThe Trump administration has sued 30 states for their voter lists and has lost 23 of the cases and won none.The claim matches the figures reported at the time of posting: the DOJ sued 30 states for voter rolls, and sources from September 2026 report 23 decided losses and no wins. Later coverage shows the losing count rising to 26 and 27, but the claim is graded as of its September posting date.6 sources →

    ▶ 4:40

  12. 12TrueIn July, Harmit Dillon, head of the Civil Rights Division in the DOJ, threatened state election officials with criminal prosecution if any non-citizens cast a ballot in their state.Multiple reliable outlets (Reuters, NBC News, NYT via the Inquirer, NOTUS) report that in July 2026 Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ Civil Rights Division, sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and D.C. warning of criminal prosecution if they knowingly kept noncitizens on voter rolls or facilitated noncitizens casting ballots. The claim's spelling "Harmit" is a minor misspelling of Harmeet Dhillon, and "if any non-citizens cast a ballot" is a slightly broader paraphrase of the "knowingly" standard, though NOTUS describes it as prosecution if any noncitizens are found to have voted.7 sources →

    ▶ 4:59

  13. 13TrueSecretary of Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullen threatened election officials with criminal prosecution if they did not put Trump's election changes into effect.Multiple tier-1 outlets report that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin (the post misspells him as "Mark Wayne Mullen") threatened state and local election officials with criminal prosecution or prison time if they did not comply with the administration's election security and policy changes. The claim's core assertion is supported, and the name spelling is a minor error with no effect on the referent.6 sources →

    ▶ 5:17

  14. 14True25-year-old Stephen Woytech, a top campaign staffer for Senator John Husted, cultivated a public playlist of songs celebrating Rhodesia.Multiple outlets citing The Washington Post report that Stephen Woytek, 25, was Sen. Jon Husted's campaign political director and had added songs to a public Spotify playlist, "Tales from Rhodesia," celebrating the white-minority-ruled former country. The claim's spelling "Woytech" and "John" (the sources say Jon Husted) are minor variants of the same people, and the claim matches the passage's wording. All coverage traces back to one WaPo report, which caps confidence.7 sources →

    ▶ 6:11

  15. 15TrueOhio Governor Mike DeWine appointed John Husted to the Senate to replace JD Vance after Vance was elected to the vice presidency.Multiple sources, including Reuters and AP, report that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by JD Vance after Vance was elected vice president. The post itself names 'John Husted' as an Ohio Republican senator, so the extracted name is the post's own referent, though the sources spell it 'Jon'.5 sources →

    ▶ 6:55

  16. 16TrueDonald Trump told reporters in Ireland that he won three times.Multiple sources report Trump saying in Ireland that he 'won three times' and 'didn't win twice,' so the act of saying it is documented. The claim is about what he said, not whether it is true; FactCheck.org separately rates his 2020 'won three times' assertion as baseless, and sources differ slightly on whether the remark was made to reporters on September 12 or 13.5 sources →

    ▶ 9:41

  17. 17TrueDonald Trump traveled to Ireland for the Irish Open at his golf club in Dunbeg.Multiple independent sources confirm that Trump traveled to Ireland on September 12-13, 2026, to attend the Irish Open at his Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, Co. Clare. The claim spells the town "Dunbeg" rather than "Doonbeg," a spelling variant for the same course, and the claim's wording matches the passage.6 sources →

    ▶ 9:41

  18. 18TrueDonald Trump claims he won three presidential elections.The claim is a faithful extraction of Trump's post that he 'won three times', and it describes the act of claiming, which the sources confirm. Multiple tier1 and tier2 outlets (FactCheck.org, AP, PolitiFact, NBC, NYT) document Trump repeatedly asserting he won three presidential elections, though they rate the substance as false because he won only two (2016 and 2024).7 sources →

    ▶ 9:51

What it’s built on

  • DistrustCalls the government illegitimatethe administration has sued 30 states for their voter lists and has lost 23 of the cases and won nonethe constant flood the zone of harassment and intimidation and threats of legal actionit would be hard to find even one congressional Republican with the integrity, sense of duty to country, honor, and courage to put America above the Republican Partycement its place in history as the most corrupt political party ever to emerge in the United States of America

Sources

Fact-checkers 19Primary records 4Most reliable outlets 1Reliable outlets 12Less reliable outlets 4Unrated 60

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