Lawsuit in response to FAA stonewalling on records requests pertaining to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s use of taxpayer-funded private jets
Today, Americans For Public Trust (APT) filed a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration for stonewalling public records requests pertaining to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s use of taxpayer-funded private jets.
Public records laws required the FAA to respond the Freedom of Information Act request within one month. It has now been six months since APT uncovered the private jet trips and more than 100 days since the FOIA was submitted.
“Pete Buttigieg abused taxpayer dollars by using a private jet to fly domestically and internationally,” said APT Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland. “It’s been six months since we helped expose Secretary Buttigieg’s trips, but his agency refuses to tell the American people how much they’re on the hook for his extravagant travel arrangements. Buttigieg’s FAA has stonewalled and refused to adhere to the law for releasing public records, so we’re filing suit on behalf of all Americans who deserve to know how their money is being spent by this administration.”
CLICK HERE to read the lawsuit.
CLICK HERE to read reporting on the lawsuit.
Background
- In November, the first request was made for all flight logs and passenger manifests of the three FAA-managed jets.
- On January 9th, a second request asked the FAA to identify every instance of a White House official, executive branch official, or member of Congress using one of the jets.
- Two days later, a third request extended the second request to include all other FAA-managed jets.
- In February 2023, after APT unearthed that Buttigieg took at least 18 taxpayer-funded flights, the Department of Transportation Inspector General announced they were conducting an internal audit of Secretary Buttigieg and his private flights.
