Podcast · heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
Letters from an American
Heather Cox Richardson
Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics. heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
77 claims
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'.True70% confidence5 sourcesSep 13, 2026Donald Trump told reporters in Ireland that he won three times.Said by AMultiple 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.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True93% confidence6 sourcesSep 13, 2026Donald Trump traveled to Ireland for the Irish Open at his golf club in Dunbeg.Said by AMultiple 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.True85% confidence6 sourcesSep 13, 2026Judge 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.True60% confidence5 sourcesSep 13, 2026Speaker 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.True55% confidence5 sourcesSep 13, 2026Donald 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.