{"id":121032,"date":"2025-05-30T10:02:35","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T18:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/05\/30\/trump-administration-tells-supreme-court-doge-cant-be-foiaed\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T10:02:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T18:02:35","slug":"trump-administration-tells-supreme-court-doge-cant-be-foiaed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/05\/30\/trump-administration-tells-supreme-court-doge-cant-be-foiaed\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Administration Tells Supreme Court DOGE Can\u2019t Be FOIAed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
(Photo by Apu Gomes\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The destructive force<\/a>\u00a0that is DOGE still somehow manages to exist, despite it not being (depending on which claim is made and when) an official federal agency and\/or overseen by anyone specifically identifiable as the head of DOGE.<\/p>\n

Until recently, everyone \u2014 including Donald Trump \u2014 knew (and said as much in public) that DOGE was both a government agency\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0headed by Elon Musk<\/a>. When the\u00a0lawsuits<\/a>\u00a0started flying, the backtracking began by the administration, which apparently thought it could cover its tracks by walking backwards in its golf-cleated clown shows.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s love for DOGE has managed to undercut the protections DOGE hoped it would be able to avail itself of when the FOIA requests began pouring in and the discovery demands started hitting federal dockets.<\/p>\n

The administration is now attempting a Hail Mary play, albeit one that hails Thomas and Alito (and possibly, Roberts), rather than the patron saint it\u2019s named after. Given the makeup of this current court, it probably has a far better chance of success than simply hurling the ball into the air and hoping someone on their own team manages to come down with it. (And, indeed,\u00a0it has already scored a temporary stay<\/a>, thanks to an emergency order issued by Chief Justice John Roberts.)<\/p>\n

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has been suing DOGE ever since it rejected its FOIA requests for the agency\u2019s operational documents. The Trump Administration is now fighting back, albeit with at least one hand inadvertently tied behind its back,\u00a0as Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for Politico<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

The Justice Department filed\u00a0an emergency appeal<\/a>\u00a0Wednesday urging the high court to put a hold on a judge\u2019s orders giving a watchdog group access to documents detailing firings, grant terminations and other actions proposed by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which was overseen by Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.<\/em><\/p>\n

Solicitor General John Sauer is also asking the Supreme Court to block a deposition of\u00a0the obscure official<\/a>\u00a0the Trump administration has identified as the leader of the budget-cutting drive: DOGE administrator Amy Gleason.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The crux of the administration\u2019s opacity\u00a0argument<\/a>\u00a0[PDF] is this: DOGE is nothing more than an advisory entity that lacks the power to make independent decisions. Obviously, everything about DOGE says otherwise, as it has propelled massive staffing and funding cuts across multiple agencies, participated in extremely careless (and\u00a0possibly illegal<\/a>) data exfiltration, and done pretty much\u00a0whatever it wants<\/a>\u00a0since it materialized as the barely-sentient wet dream of a guy who insists on\u00a0wearing a baseball cap<\/a>\u00a0to every Oval Office meeting.<\/p>\n

But that has been undercut by Trump himself, who has stated the agency definitely can do everything the administration is now claiming in court it\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0<\/em>do, as well as thrown someone under the DOGE bus to act as the recipient for the negative attention (and FOIA requests, and deposition demands) Trump managed to successfully shield his\u00a0fascist-saluting man-child<\/a>\u00a0from since his return to the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

This trouble has been brewing for a few months:<\/p>\n

\n

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper found there were strong indications that DOGE was actually directing cuts and layoffs at numerous federal agencies. That substantive operational role suggests DOGE\u2019s activities fall under the Freedom of Information Act, the judge wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now that a judge is saying stuff we\u2019ve all been able to clearly observe since DOGE\u2019s inception, the administration now wants the Supreme Court to declare that the public (and multiple litigants) shouldn\u2019t be allowed to believe their own eyes.<\/p>\n

Making matters worse for the administration\u2019s anti-transparency efforts is the fact that it has finally decided to put someone\u2019s name on the top of the department\u2019s letterhead: DOGE administrator Amy Gleason. (From what\u2019s known about Gleason<\/a>, it seems clear she\u2019s being used to catch bullets meant for Trump\/Musk, rather than actually\u00a0direct<\/em>\u00a0DOGE operations.)<\/p>\n

While this will probably keep Musk and his mouth out of court, it does make it clear that DOGE not only acts on its own impulses (rather than just offer mass termination \u201cguidance\u201d) but that someone will ultimately have to answer questions about DOGE\u2019s actions in court, should discovery requests manage to secure some depositions.<\/p>\n

Obviously, the normal court processes and determinations in litigation against DOGE cannot be allowed to stand. That\u2019s why the administration wants the judges it bought to give it a free pass on destroying the federal government while simultaneously preventing the public from learning anything more about the salt-the-earth tactics being spearheaded by DOGE. And it really doesn\u2019t matter whose name is currently at the top of the org chart in terms of destruction. But it does matter when it comes to FOIA litigation and the administration\u2019s insistence DOGE is limited to simply\u00a0suggesting<\/em>\u00a0moves the administration\u00a0might<\/em>\u00a0want to make.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no telling how this desperation move will work out. The Supreme Court has played both sides of the encroaching fascism line in recent weeks, giving Trump some free passes while occasionally shutting down the administration\u2019s efforts to vanish constitutional rights into the anti-immigration cornfield.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s hope this will end up being one of the latter. What\u2019s already known about DOGE and its operations is extremely disturbing. Perhaps the exposure of more internal information will help more people realize the government they chose to elect is actively trying to destroy many of the things they still hold dear and propel some opposition from citizens who never thought they\u2019d be #NeverTrump. We can only hope.<\/p>\n

24a1122<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n

Trump Administration Tells Supreme Court DOGE Can\u2019t Be FOIAed<\/a><\/p>\n

More Law-Related Stories From Techdirt:<\/strong><\/p>\n

RFK Jr.\u2019s MAHA Report Cites Studies That Don\u2019t Seem To Exist, Misinterprets Others<\/a>
Fifth Circuit: Fuck It, The Censors Can Control Public Libraries<\/a>
Senator Wyden: U.S. Wireless Carriers Fail Utterly To Inform Consumers (Or Senators) About Government Surveillance<\/a><\/p>\n

The post Trump Administration Tells Supreme Court DOGE Can\u2019t Be FOIAed<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Photo by Apu Gomes\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The destructive force<\/a>\u00a0that is DOGE still somehow manages to exist, despite it not being (depending on which claim is made and when) an official federal agency and\/or overseen by anyone specifically identifiable as the head of DOGE.<\/p>\n

Until recently, everyone \u2014 including Donald Trump \u2014 knew (and said as much in public) that DOGE was both a government agency\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0headed by Elon Musk<\/a>. When the\u00a0lawsuits<\/a>\u00a0started flying, the backtracking began by the administration, which apparently thought it could cover its tracks by walking backwards in its golf-cleated clown shows.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s love for DOGE has managed to undercut the protections DOGE hoped it would be able to avail itself of when the FOIA requests began pouring in and the discovery demands started hitting federal dockets.<\/p>\n

The administration is now attempting a Hail Mary play, albeit one that hails Thomas and Alito (and possibly, Roberts), rather than the patron saint it\u2019s named after. Given the makeup of this current court, it probably has a far better chance of success than simply hurling the ball into the air and hoping someone on their own team manages to come down with it. (And, indeed,\u00a0it has already scored a temporary stay<\/a>, thanks to an emergency order issued by Chief Justice John Roberts.)<\/p>\n

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has been suing DOGE ever since it rejected its FOIA requests for the agency\u2019s operational documents. The Trump Administration is now fighting back, albeit with at least one hand inadvertently tied behind its back,\u00a0as Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for Politico<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

The Justice Department filed\u00a0an emergency appeal<\/a>\u00a0Wednesday urging the high court to put a hold on a judge\u2019s orders giving a watchdog group access to documents detailing firings, grant terminations and other actions proposed by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which was overseen by Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.<\/em><\/p>\n

Solicitor General John Sauer is also asking the Supreme Court to block a deposition of\u00a0the obscure official<\/a>\u00a0the Trump administration has identified as the leader of the budget-cutting drive: DOGE administrator Amy Gleason.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The crux of the administration\u2019s opacity\u00a0argument<\/a>\u00a0[PDF] is this: DOGE is nothing more than an advisory entity that lacks the power to make independent decisions. Obviously, everything about DOGE says otherwise, as it has propelled massive staffing and funding cuts across multiple agencies, participated in extremely careless (and\u00a0possibly illegal<\/a>) data exfiltration, and done pretty much\u00a0whatever it wants<\/a>\u00a0since it materialized as the barely-sentient wet dream of a guy who insists on\u00a0wearing a baseball cap<\/a>\u00a0to every Oval Office meeting.<\/p>\n

But that has been undercut by Trump himself, who has stated the agency definitely can do everything the administration is now claiming in court it\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0<\/em>do, as well as thrown someone under the DOGE bus to act as the recipient for the negative attention (and FOIA requests, and deposition demands) Trump managed to successfully shield his\u00a0fascist-saluting man-child<\/a>\u00a0from since his return to the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

This trouble has been brewing for a few months:<\/p>\n

\n

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper found there were strong indications that DOGE was actually directing cuts and layoffs at numerous federal agencies. That substantive operational role suggests DOGE\u2019s activities fall under the Freedom of Information Act, the judge wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now that a judge is saying stuff we\u2019ve all been able to clearly observe since DOGE\u2019s inception, the administration now wants the Supreme Court to declare that the public (and multiple litigants) shouldn\u2019t be allowed to believe their own eyes.<\/p>\n

Making matters worse for the administration\u2019s anti-transparency efforts is the fact that it has finally decided to put someone\u2019s name on the top of the department\u2019s letterhead: DOGE administrator Amy Gleason. (From what\u2019s known about Gleason<\/a>, it seems clear she\u2019s being used to catch bullets meant for Trump\/Musk, rather than actually\u00a0direct<\/em>\u00a0DOGE operations.)<\/p>\n

While this will probably keep Musk and his mouth out of court, it does make it clear that DOGE not only acts on its own impulses (rather than just offer mass termination \u201cguidance\u201d) but that someone will ultimately have to answer questions about DOGE\u2019s actions in court, should discovery requests manage to secure some depositions.<\/p>\n

Obviously, the normal court processes and determinations in litigation against DOGE cannot be allowed to stand. That\u2019s why the administration wants the judges it bought to give it a free pass on destroying the federal government while simultaneously preventing the public from learning anything more about the salt-the-earth tactics being spearheaded by DOGE. And it really doesn\u2019t matter whose name is currently at the top of the org chart in terms of destruction. But it does matter when it comes to FOIA litigation and the administration\u2019s insistence DOGE is limited to simply\u00a0suggesting<\/em>\u00a0moves the administration\u00a0might<\/em>\u00a0want to make.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no telling how this desperation move will work out. The Supreme Court has played both sides of the encroaching fascism line in recent weeks, giving Trump some free passes while occasionally shutting down the administration\u2019s efforts to vanish constitutional rights into the anti-immigration cornfield.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s hope this will end up being one of the latter. What\u2019s already known about DOGE and its operations is extremely disturbing. Perhaps the exposure of more internal information will help more people realize the government they chose to elect is actively trying to destroy many of the things they still hold dear and propel some opposition from citizens who never thought they\u2019d be #NeverTrump. We can only hope.<\/p>\n

24a1122<\/a>Download<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump Administration Tells Supreme Court DOGE Can\u2019t Be FOIAed<\/a><\/p>\n

More Law-Related Stories From Techdirt:<\/strong><\/p>\n

RFK Jr.\u2019s MAHA Report Cites Studies That Don\u2019t Seem To Exist, Misinterprets Others<\/a>
Fifth Circuit: Fuck It, The Censors Can Control Public Libraries<\/a>
Senator Wyden: U.S. Wireless Carriers Fail Utterly To Inform Consumers (Or Senators) About Government Surveillance<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo by Apu Gomes\/Getty Images) The destructive force\u00a0that is DOGE still somehow manages to exist, despite it not being (depending on which claim is made and when) an official federal agency and\/or overseen by anyone specifically identifiable as the head of DOGE. Until recently, everyone \u2014 including Donald Trump \u2014 knew (and said as much […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":120999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2151277312-gih5Io.jpeg?fit=594%2C396&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}