FCC Faces ‘Bad Faith’ Accusations Over DOGE Data

A year-long legal effort to uncover the activities of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) within the Federal Communications Commission has escalated, with plaintiffs now accusing the agency of operating in bad faith by systematically withholding documents. The lawsuit, initiated by the advocacy group Frequency Forward and journalist Nina Burleigh, seeks to compel the FCC to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request. Their goal is to illuminate potential conflicts of interest involving billionaire Elon Musk, who serves as the public face of DOGE while also controlling SpaceX, a company regulated by the FCC. Despite a court order, the plaintiffs argue the agency has produced only heavily redacted email threads and failed to turn over crucial records.

In a recent court filing, attorney Arthur Belendiuk stated the FCC has deliberately delayed and obstructed the document production process. The request specifically targeted information related to FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s visits to facilities affiliated with Elon Musk, such as SpaceX or Tesla. Carr publicly posted about these visits on the social media platform X on at least eight separate occasions during the relevant time period. However, the FCC did not provide any internal documents, travel itineraries, or calendar events related to planning these trips. This absence of routine administrative records forms a core part of the plaintiffs’ argument that the agency is not acting transparently.

The conflict-of-interest concerns are central to the case. The filing emphasizes that the FCC has refused to formally examine the ethical questions raised by Musk’s dual roles. On one side, he is a prominent political donor and leads the DOGE initiative. On the other, he oversees a major FCC licensee. Belendiuk contends that obtaining a detailed account of contacts between Musk, his companies, DOGE, and the FCC is critical for public understanding of how this relationship influences regulatory oversight. The only email from Chair Carr himself that was included in the FCC’s document production was entirely blacked out, further fueling suspicions of secrecy.

The allegations extend beyond visitor logs to the very integration of DOGE personnel within the FCC. The filing highlights the case of Tarak Makecha, a detailee from the Office of Personnel Management assigned to the FCC. Records indicate Makecha spent about two weeks at the agency, during which he requested and received sensitive information, including broadband mapping data and detailed personnel records. Plaintiffs assert there is no evidence he completed standard onboarding, security, or ethics checks prior to obtaining this data. This is particularly notable given that Makecha’s public financial disclosure form listed stock holdings in Tesla and telecommunications funds, yet the FCC produced no documents regarding ethics agreements or recusal procedures.

The document production also appears incomplete in other key areas. Frequency Forward notes that the FCC failed to produce any text messages responsive to the FOIA request, nor did it explain their absence, even though released emails reference text exchanges. When asked for comment on the new court filing, the FCC did not immediately respond. Belendiuk poses a pointed question about the unusual circumstances, asking who leaves a federal posting almost immediately after it begins, following requests for sensitive data, and why the administrative trail is so sparse. He argues that if the arrangement was routine, the FCC should easily produce routine records; their absence only deepens the mystery and strengthens the case for judicial intervention to allow formal discovery and depositions.

(Source: The Verge)