Judge Grants NYT's Demand for List of Elon Musk's Security Clearances, Citing His Own Public Admissions
Source: MEDIAite
Oct 8th, 2025, 1:32 pm
America may soon get a closer look at Elon Musk’s level of access to the government connected to his federal contracts and his short-lived stint with DOGE, after a federal judge in New York granted a summary judgment motion to The New York Times regarding its public records request for a list of Musk’s security clearances — and Musk’s own public comments are a major reason why.
The viral image of Musk literally holding up a chainsaw on stage swiftly became a symbol for his critics, who accused him and “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) of metaphorically attempting to chainsaw vast swaths of the federal government, often in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Numerous lawsuits were filed in response to DOGE’s activities, some seeking to block or restrict the budget cuts or employment terminations and others that sought access to public records about the activities of Musk and others working on the DOGE effort with him.
One such lawsuit was filed by the Times in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, requesting a two-page document that listed any security clearances granted to Musk.
Both the Times and the Trump administration filed motions for summary judgment — a legal procedure that entails the court evaluating the pleadings and evidence before trial. As established by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, if the judge finds that there is “no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law,” then summary judgment is granted to that party. Summary judgment can be granted for an entire complaint, rendering a verdict for the plaintiff or dismissing the case for the defendant, or partially. Here, the Times was only seeking this one single document, so that was the sole matter in dispute.
Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/lawcrime/judge-grants-nyts-demand-for-list-of-elon-musks-security-clearances-citing-his-own-public-admissions/
Link to RULING (PDF) - https://t.co/luY3REDSLO
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