Trump ally may be forced to make a major DOGE admission after court ruling
A federal judge appears poised to force one of President Donald Trump's closest allies to disclose potentially damning information about his time at the Department of Government Efficiency.
Federal Judge James Boasberg in the District of Columbia ruled on Wednesday that Trump ally Elon Musk's lawyers must disclose any telephone number that Musk gave to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy or any other Republican colleagues on The Hill between Jan. 20 and May 31, 2025, Allison Gill of the "Mueller, She Wrote" podcast reported on her Substack. A status update disclosing the phone number is due by Feb. 24, Boasberg wrote.
The phone numbers are a key component of a lawsuit brought by MSW Media and the First Amendment Coalition against DOGE, which Musk led. Last year, the two groups filed a FOIA request to determine whether Musk was communicating with lawmakers and DOGE staffers on a personal device, as had been widely reported at the time.
Using personal devices for government work is a national security risk, according to experts. It is also a topic Trump once hammered former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over, even though watchdog groups like American Oversight have noted that Trump allies appear to have "questionable" email practices.
At the time Musk joined the second Trump administration, he was hired as a "special government employee," a position that requires him to abide by certain federal record-keeping laws.