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Letters from an American
Heather Cox Richardson
Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics. heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
18 claims · Clear filters
Mixed70% confidence5 sourcesSep 13, 2026The 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.Said by AThe 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.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.Mixed60% confidence5 sourcesSep 13, 2026The 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.True95% confidence7 sourcesSep 13, 2026Donald Trump claims he won three presidential elections.Said by AThe 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).Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True90% confidence6 sourcesSep 13, 2026Judge J. Michael Luttig published a warning in The New Republic regarding how Republicans could refuse to seat elected Democrats in January 2027.Said by AMultiple 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.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True60% confidence7 sourcesSep 13, 2026House Speaker Mike Johnson has the power to remove the current House Clerk, Kevin McCumber, and replace him temporarily with a MAGA loyalist.Said by AMultiple 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.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True85% confidence8 sourcesSep 13, 2026The 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.Said by AThe 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.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True80% confidence7 sourcesSep 13, 2026Speaker Mike Johnson told attendees at a convention in Dallas that they cannot and will not allow Democrats to take the majority in Congress.Said by AMultiple 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.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True85% confidence6 sourcesSep 13, 2026The Trump administration has sued 30 states for their voter lists and has lost 23 of the cases and won none.Said by AThe 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.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True88% confidence6 sourcesSep 13, 2026Secretary of Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullen threatened election officials with criminal prosecution if they did not put Trump's election changes into effect.Said by AMultiple 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.True88% confidence7 sourcesSep 13, 2026In 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.Said by AMultiple 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.True68% confidence7 sourcesSep 13, 202625-year-old Stephen Woytech, a top campaign staffer for Senator John Husted, cultivated a public playlist of songs celebrating Rhodesia.Said by AMultiple 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.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True95% confidence5 sourcesSep 13, 2026Ohio Governor Mike DeWine appointed John Husted to the Senate to replace JD Vance after Vance was elected to the vice presidency.Said by AMultiple 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'.