Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have created a long list of establishment enemies, and in the process, generated mountains of legal actions against the organization.
According to The Hill, in a lawsuit that seeks documents and information about DOGE operations, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts temporarily paused discovery.
Roberts played ball with the Trump administration, which had requested a temporary administrative stay, "which temporarily lifts a judge’s order allowing limited discovery into whether DOGE is an 'agency.'"
The key issue is that if DOGE is found to be an official agency, then it, like every other agency, would be subject to complying with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Chief Justice Roberts received the request by default, as he handles emergency requests that come out of Washington D.C.
The Hill noted:
The pause will last until the court decides whether to wipe two lower court rulings letting discovery move forward, which Roberts could himself decide or refer to the full court.
Attorneys for the government, including Solicitor General D. John Sauer, argued that DOGE is not subject to complying with FOIA requests, instead describing the organization as a "presidential advisory body" housed within the Executive Office of the President.
Sauer went on to argue that he believes the judge allowed deep levels of discovery to determine whether or not DOGE is required to submit to FOIA requests.
The Hill added:
He suggested that U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an appointee of former President Obama, ordered DOGE to submit to “sweeping, intrusive” discovery just to determine if it is, in fact, subject to FOIA, which lets the public request information from the government.
Sauder said, "That order turns FOIA on its head, effectively giving the respondent a win on the merits of its FOIA suit under the guise of figuring out whether FOIA even applies."
The high court intervened after a lower D.C. court ruled last week that the discovery process could continue.
The lawsuit was brought against DOGE by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
Dozens of other lawsuits have been filed with similar intentions.
Only time will tell where this particular lawsuit goes.
