Judge Orders Musk and DOGE to Produce Documents, Respond to Written Inquiries
The requests for information aim to elucidate the “parameters of DOGE’s and Musk’s authority.”
TroibNews 
A federal judge has mandated that Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency provide a broad range of records and respond to inquiries regarding their plans to reduce the size of federal agencies, terminate employees, and halt federal contracts.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s ruling on Wednesday is a significant win for a coalition of 14 Democratic state attorneys general who are suing President Donald Trump, Musk, and DOGE. They contend that Musk has exercised unconstitutional power in ways that negatively affect their states. Any information obtained as a result of Chutkan’s decision will assist her in evaluating whether to prohibit Musk and DOGE from conducting government operations altogether.
This marks the first occasion on which a judge has compelled Musk to produce documents in a legal challenge related to his aggressive campaign to reshape the federal bureaucracy. Chutkan indicated that her order is primarily focused on identifying the DOGE officials Musk has placed within the government and obtaining details about the "parameters of DOGE’s and Musk’s authority."
Appointed by President Barack Obama, Chutkan has given Musk and DOGE three weeks to fulfill the discovery requests.
She declined the states’ motion to mandate sworn testimony at this stage of proceedings, and clarified that Trump himself is not required to answer the written questions or provide documents.
The Trump administration has sought to resist legal discovery regarding Musk’s activities by characterizing him as a senior White House adviser. All recent administrations have invoked executive privilege to resist demands for testimony or evidence from the president’s closest advisors in legal proceedings.
However, Chutkan determined that the requests for documents and written questions concerning Musk’s role are narrow and would not impose an undue burden on the executive branch.
Spokespeople for the White House and DOGE did not respond immediately to requests for comments on the judge’s ruling.
Separately, last month, another federal judge in Washington ordered DOGE and three federal agencies to provide officials for questioning under oath regarding the cost-cutting operation’s access to federal data. This judge did not impose any obligations on Musk and left the decision regarding which officials would appear to the government.
Additionally, a judge in D.C. ruled on Monday that DOGE must review thousands of pages of documents to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request from a liberal watchdog group.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s ruling on Wednesday is a significant win for a coalition of 14 Democratic state attorneys general who are suing President Donald Trump, Musk, and DOGE. They contend that Musk has exercised unconstitutional power in ways that negatively affect their states. Any information obtained as a result of Chutkan’s decision will assist her in evaluating whether to prohibit Musk and DOGE from conducting government operations altogether.
This marks the first occasion on which a judge has compelled Musk to produce documents in a legal challenge related to his aggressive campaign to reshape the federal bureaucracy. Chutkan indicated that her order is primarily focused on identifying the DOGE officials Musk has placed within the government and obtaining details about the "parameters of DOGE’s and Musk’s authority."
Appointed by President Barack Obama, Chutkan has given Musk and DOGE three weeks to fulfill the discovery requests.
She declined the states’ motion to mandate sworn testimony at this stage of proceedings, and clarified that Trump himself is not required to answer the written questions or provide documents.
The Trump administration has sought to resist legal discovery regarding Musk’s activities by characterizing him as a senior White House adviser. All recent administrations have invoked executive privilege to resist demands for testimony or evidence from the president’s closest advisors in legal proceedings.
However, Chutkan determined that the requests for documents and written questions concerning Musk’s role are narrow and would not impose an undue burden on the executive branch.
Spokespeople for the White House and DOGE did not respond immediately to requests for comments on the judge’s ruling.
Separately, last month, another federal judge in Washington ordered DOGE and three federal agencies to provide officials for questioning under oath regarding the cost-cutting operation’s access to federal data. This judge did not impose any obligations on Musk and left the decision regarding which officials would appear to the government.
Additionally, a judge in D.C. ruled on Monday that DOGE must review thousands of pages of documents to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request from a liberal watchdog group.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
