According to a watchdog group focused on transparency, the Trump administration is allegedly breaching the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by withholding records concerning a controversial hire within the Department of Homeland Security. This individual, who has been linked to election denialism, was appointed over the summer.

American Oversight filed a 17-page complaint on Thursday, asserting that the federal government has repeatedly contravened FOIA regulations by not disclosing requested documents about Heather Honey, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elections Integrity.

This legal action follows a report by The New York Times, which highlighted statements allegedly made by Honey during a conference call with election officials from every state, conducted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

American Oversight, in their press release about the lawsuit, described Honey’s remarks on the call as reminiscent of rhetoric commonly associated with unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud.

Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight, emphasized in a statement the importance of transparency regarding Honey’s appointment. “The public has a right to understand how someone with a history of promoting election conspiracy theories was entrusted with the integrity of our election systems,” Chukwu stated. “DHS must work to bolster public trust in our elections, not obscure the actions of officials who propagate the falsehoods that incited the January 6 uprising. Clarity about Heather Honey’s role and activities is crucial to assess who this administration is empowering to oversee election infrastructure, as this may indicate their approach to the security and integrity of future elections.”

The group’s concerns are largely centered around Honey’s past activism.

The lawsuit cites an Associated Press report that describes Honey as a “conservative election researcher whose faulty findings on voter data were cited by President Donald Trump as he tried to overturn his 2020 election loss.” That report also notes the DHS position she now holds is a new one recently created by the Trump administration.

The filing goes on to quote from each aforementioned news article:

After the 2020 presidential election, Honey’s “election research misrepresented incomplete state voter data to falsely claim that Pennsylvania had more votes reported than voters,” and Honey was “involved in the Arizona Senate’s partisan audit of election results” that was “described by experts as riddled with errors, bias and flawed methodology.”

In September, Deputy Assistant Secretary Honey spoke to election officials from across the country, who were left “alarmed,” “confused,” and “anxious” by her “echo[ing] rhetoric that has infused the right-wing election activist movement that emerged since President Trump falsely claimed that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud.”

Filed in Washington, D.C., federal district court, the complaint alleges the federal government withheld records related to Honey’s hiring, communications, and calendar. The lawsuit also alleges two broader FOIA requests submitted to DHS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services – which mentioned Honey by name among many other inquiries – were essentially ignored as well.

Each of those FOIA requests were made on Sept. 16, and acknowledged in the days to come by each relevant records custodian, according to the lawsuit. After each agency exercised its right to invoke a 10-day extension, however, American Oversight says they have “received no further communication” regarding the requests.

“As of the date of this Complaint, Defendants have failed to (a) notify American Oversight of final determinations regarding American Oversight’s FOIA requests, including the scope of responsive records Defendants intend to produce or withhold and the reasons for any withholdings; or (b) produce the requested records or demonstrate that the requested records are lawfully exempt from production,” the lawsuit reads. “Through Defendants’ failure to respond to American Oversight’s FOIA requests within the time period required by law, American Oversight has constructively exhausted its administrative remedies and seeks immediate judicial review.”

The lawsuit is premised on two discrete claims – an alleged failure to conduct adequate searches for responsive records, and the alleged wrongful withholding of non-exempt responsive records.

The plaintiffs are asking the judge to order the agency defendants “to conduct a search or searches reasonably calculated to uncover all records responsive to American Oversight’s FOIA requests” and to then produce such records within 20 days of such a would-be court order. The lawsuit also seeks an injunction barring the government from withholding any such records.