In an opinion issued Tuesday night, a United States District judge ruled that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is entitled to expedited discovery in its lawsuit against the US DOGE Service brought under the Freedom of Information Act and Federal Records Act. DOGE has repeatedly argued that it is not an agency subject to FOIA or the FRA. To determine whether that is in fact the case, the Court ordered DOGE to respond to CREW’s requests for documents and provide sworn answers to CREW’s written questions, and ordered the depositions of Acting DOGE Administrator Amy Gleason and another individual that DOGE will select to testify on behalf of DOGE itself. Following the decision, CREW Deputy Chief Counsel Nikhel Sus issued the following statement:

“We appreciate the Court’s decision, which compels DOGE to provide much needed information on its structure and operations. While publicly available information indicates that DOGE is subject to FOIA, the lack of clarity on DOGE’s authority leaves that an open question. Discovery will help to provide the critical answers the parties and the Court need.”

Read the order and opinion here.