Main: A banner featuring an image of President Donald Trump hangs on the Department of Justice in Washington, Wednesday, May 27, 2026 (AP Photo/Matt Rourke). Left inset: In this Dec. 11, 2007, file photo, Commissioner Beryl A. Howell speaks during the U.S. Sentencing Commission meeting in Washington (AP Photo/Stephen J. Boitano, File).
After the Democratic National Committee complained that the Trump administration has "produced vanishingly few documents" about any plans to send federal agents to the polls for the upcoming midterm elections, a judge has ordered the DOJ to produce a "partial" list with redactions justifying its secrecy.
Senior U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell on Saturday said the "time sensitivity of upcoming elections" informed her order that the government "produce […] a partial Vaughn Index" by Sept. 10, a list of withheld documents, with a description, and the legal justification for claiming the materials are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Howell in mid-July ordered ICE and CBP to "immediately begin processing potentially responsive" records "at a rate of at least 1,000 pages per month" after the government's sudden reversal on the claim that "no responsive records were found" — in a case that seeks documents "concerning potential deployment of federal agents and troops to polling places, drop boxes, and election offices."
"Further, to be clear, ICE and CBP shall still process 1,000 pages of potentially responsive material for the month of July 2026 and each month thereafter, and produce non-exempt responsive records during completion of any ongoing searches," Howell ordered.
On Friday, the DNC's attorneys credited the judge for forcing the administration to make "halting progress towards compliance." But even that wasn't enough, the lawyers said. They accused the government of intentionally "queueing […] nonresponsive documents before responsive ones" to "delay[] public awareness of information contained" therein.
"Nonetheless, Defendants have produced vanishingly few documents beyond public materials of marginal relevance and press clipping expressly excluded from the DNC's FOIA requests," the filing said, demanding a timely "batched production of responsive records" well ahead of the midterms.
To hear the office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro tell it, the DNC's "insinuations" are "unfounded" — but ICE has been notified about the "queuing" complaint.
"Plaintiff objects that ICE produced press clippings despite a proviso in Plaintiff's request indicating that press clippings without accompanying discussion by agency officials are non-responsive. In light of Plaintiff's observation, undersigned counsel for Defendants has drawn ICE's attention to this proviso," a footnote from the DOJ explained. "Plaintiff's insinuation that ICE is 'apparent[ly] queuing . . . nonresponsive documents before responsive ones' is unfounded and ICE stands ready to consider any technically feasible narrowing or prioritization requests Plaintiff may advance."
A prominent Barack Obama appointee, Howell took senior status in 2024, having served as the chief judge of the district court in Washington over the entirety of President Donald Trump's first term and beyond.
Chief Judge James Boasberg now holds that title and has proven to be just as central a figure during Trump's second term.