An Obama-appointed district judge has ruled the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) needs to release records of its actions, citing “unusual secrecy” and claiming the task force wields “unprecedented” power.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled DOGE must comply with a Freedom of Information Act request by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), writing, “The authority exercised by USDS [U.S. Digital Service, AKA DOGE] across the federal government and the dramatic cuts it has apparently made with no congressional input appear to be unprecedented.”
The judge ordered an expedited release of the docs requested by CREW, which sought files from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and DOGE.
“The rapid pace of [DOGE’s] actions, in turn, requires the quick release of information about its structure and activities,” Cooper wrote in a 37-page decision. “That is especially so given the secrecy with which DOGE has operated.”
“Congress needs the requested information in a timely fashion to use it effectively. The electorate also requires the expeditious production and publication of this information,” he added. “Voters may seek to influence congressional representatives to take action responsive to USDS at any point along the road. And ‘[t]he dissemination of information’ sought by CREW would contribute ‘to an informed electorate capable of developing knowledgeable opinions and sharing those knowledgeable opinions with their elected leaders.’”
Responding to Judge Cooper’s ruling, former law clerk for SCOTUS Justice Neil Gorsuch, Mike Davis, slammed the “activist judge” for misapplying the FOIA, as DOGE is merely an advisory group without statutory power.
“Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which is CREW, or a left-wing radical group that pretends like it’s a government watch dog ran to a DC Obama activist judge, Chris Cooper, and they got an injunction telling the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE that they’re subject to FOIA and they have to turn over these records,” Davis told Steve Bannon’s War Room. “This ruling is clearly wrong. It’s clearly illegal. FOIA applies to executive branch agencies that have statutory power to administer programs.”
“That does not apply to DOGE. Judges are not required to turn over and make public their internal deliberations, their communications with their law clerks and secretaries and other judges and staff. Members of Congress are not required to turn over their internal deliberations, their conversations with their staff and their colleagues. The President of the United States and his staff are also not required to turn over and make public their internal communications and their discussions with their colleagues. That FOIA does not apply to them. DOGE reports it’s in the executive office of the President, Elon Musk and the DOGE team report to the White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, and they advise the President. They don’t have statutory administrative functions that would subject them to the to FOIA.”
On X, War Room correspondent Natalie Winters pointed out Judge Cooper’s numerous possible conflicts of interest, including that he was previously a partner at Covington & Burling, which recently had its security clearance stripped by the Trump administration.
“Judge Cooper’s wedding was officiated by [former Biden Attorney General] Merrick Garland, & his wife worked for [former Obama Attorney General] Eric Holder,” Winters noted.
Additionally, Judge Cooper’s wife is representing Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, who’s currently suing the Trump administration.
“How is this not a conflict of interest!?” asked Winters.
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