On September 4, 2018, the case closed.

On March 15, 2018, CREW received records which, though heavily redacted, showed that Mnuchin apparently abused his access to military and non-commercial aircraft for both business travel and occasional personal travel. Review the records here, here and here.

Read our analysis of the records

CREW filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Treasury on September 11, 2017 following the Treasury’s failure to respond to CREW’s Freedom of Information (FOIA) request for records related to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s use of a government plane to travel with his wife, Louise Linton, to Lexington, Kentucky. On August 23, CREW filed a FOIA request for records concerning travel to Kentucky after it was reported that Secretary Mnuchin and Linton “headed to Fort Knox…to tour the bullion reserve at the Army post and view the eclipse.”

CREW’s request sought to shed light on the justification of Secretary Mnuchin’s use of a government plane, rather than a commercial flight, for a trip that seems to have been planned around the solar eclipse and to enable the Secretary to secure a viewpoint closer to the path of the eclipse’s totality, which lay just outside of Fort Knox. At a time of expected deep cuts to the federal budget, U.S. taxpayers have a significant interest in learning the extent to which Secretary Mnuchin has used government planes for personal travel.

CREW sought expedition of its request because of widespread media interest and because the requested information involves possible questions of the government’s integrity that affect public confidence. The American public will bear the brunt of the tax policy Secretary Mnuchin is spearheading, and therefore has a need for information about the policy’s co-architect. CREW has not received any response – not even an acknowledgment – from the Treasury Department to its request for expedition, or to the FOIA request itself, despite the FOIA’s requirement that agencies make a determination whether to grant a request for expedition within ten calendar days of its receipt.

Lawsuit Documents


  • September 11, 2017
  • October 19, 2017
  • October 26, 2017
  • October 26, 2017 - Memorandum In Support of Motion For a Preliminary Injunction
  • October. 26, 2017
  • November 2, 2017 - Defendant's Opposition To The Motion For Preliminary Injunction
  • November 2, 2017 - Exhibit A For Defendant's Opposition To Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction
  • November 2, 2017 - Exhibit B For Defendant's Opposition To Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction
  • November 2, 2017 - Exhibit C For Defendant's Opposition To Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction
  • November 2, 2017 - Exhibit D For Defendant's Opposition To Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction
  • November 2, 2017 - Exhibit E For Defendant's Opposition To Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction
  • November 2, 2017 - Exhibit F For Defendant's Opposition To Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction
  • November 2, 2017 - Exhibit G For Defendant's Opposition To Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction
  • November 2, 2017 - Order - Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction is Denied
  • November 7, 2017 - CREW Reply In Support of Motion For A Preliminary Injunction
  • November 20, 2017 - Order - Plaintiff's Motion For Preliminary Injunction Denied As Moot
  • December 15, 2017
  • December 12, 2017
  • July 2, 2018
  • July 2, 2018 - Memorandum of Points & Authorities in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgement
  • July 2, 2018 - Exhibit A - Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgement
  • July 2, 2018 - Exhibit B - Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgement
  • July 2, 2018 - Exhibit C - Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgement
  • July 2, 2018 - Exhibit D - Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgement
  • July 2, 2018 - Exhibit E - Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgement
  • July 2, 2018 - Exhibit F - Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgement
  • July 2, 2018 - Plaintiff's Statement of Material Facts Not in Dispute
  • September 4, 2018

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