- A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and must comply with document requests. However, the federal judge did not grant immediate access to all records.
- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued to force DOGE to release documents. It comes after the Trump administration claimed the agency was exempt from FOIA due to its executive branch status.
- The federal government has until March 20 to estimate the number of documents under CREW’s request, with a timeline for their release to be presented on March 27.
Full Story
The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, must turn over documents when requested under a federal transparency law, a judge ruled Monday. However, the judge didn’t require the federal government to produce all requested documents immediately.
U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, would likely succeed in its lawsuit challenging whether DOGE was exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
Primer on FOIA
The Act, commonly known as FOIA, allows citizens and organizations to request public documents from government entities at various levels. There are many exceptions to the law, including much of the federal government’s executive branch. DOGE was initially formed as the United States Digital Service, an extension of the Office of Management and Budget under the Obama administration. Trump moved it under the executive branch umbrella with his order changing it to the agency it is today.
Who’s CREW?
CREW was founded by people with ties to the Democratic Party, though it does pursue lawsuits against Democratic officeholders. It’s seen as a counterweight to conservative judicial nonprofits like Judicial Watch.
CREW filed several FOIA requests seeking a trove of documents from DOGE and the Office of Management and Budget. The Trump administration refused the requests, saying DOGE was exempt now that it was under the executive branch. CREW sued to force the release.
“The law is clear about how government records should be preserved so that, when the public requests them, they are easily and readily accessible. If the administration valued transparency, following records laws would be a priority,” said CREW President Noah Bookbinder in a Feb. 20 statement.
The ruling
Cooper didn’t give CREW immediate access to their requested records, but he largely agreed that DOGE’s expansive powers warrant public scrutiny.
“Many of the facts establishing CREW’s entitlement to expedited processing … indicate that an indefinite delay would result in irreparable harm,” the judge wrote in his opinion. “The electorate also requires the expeditious production and publication of this information. Voters may seek to influence congressional representatives to take action responsive to USDS at any point along the road.”
What’s next?
Cooper gave the federal government until March 20 to give the court an estimate of the number of documents that would fall under CREW’s request. The parties are to meet on March 27 and present a timeline for releasing the documents.
