Judge orders DOGE to release records on an ‘expedited basis’

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) must comply with a request to disclose its internal records. In a ruling on Monday, US District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper wrote that DOGE is likely covered by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), adding that “the public would be irreparably harmed by an indefinite delay in unearthing the records.”

The ruling stems from a lawsuit from an ethics watchdog group — the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) — that sued DOGE for failing to hand over documents related to communications between staffers and federal agencies, organizational charts, financial disclosures, and other records.

In his decision, Cooper takes into account the “unusual secrecy” DOGE has operated under, as it hasn’t named its members and reportedly uses the encrypted messaging app Signal for communications. He added that DOGE staffers “are reported to have joined the federal government only recently and, to put it charitably, may not be steeped in its document retention policies.”

Judge Cooper has ordered DOGE and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to produce the documents requested by CREW “on an expedited basis.” He concluded that DOGE is “likely exercising substantial independent authority” compared to other agencies, likely making it subject to FOIA.

As reported by The New York Times, the Trump administration previously attempted to classify DOGE as a presidential records entity, which would allow it to skirt public records requests.

“Despite efforts and claims to the contrary, the government cannot hide the actions of the US DOGE Service,” Donald Sherman, CREW’s executive director and chief counsel, said in a response to the ruling. “We look forward to the expedited processing of our requests and making all the DOGE documents public.”