‘Mayor Pete’ documentary leads to a FOIA lawsuit against Transportation Dept.
- April 14, 2022
Juliette Fairley, Legal Newsline
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Protect the People’s Trust (PPT) sued the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that the federal agency is non-compliant with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) involving the documentary “Mayor Pete.”
“This movie was a private project,” said Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust. “It’s not the business of the government to be using official public resources to support it.”
The documentary profiles current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s life prior to his joining the DOT in February 2021.
“The trust of the American public in their government is already at an all-time low and part of that is due to mistrust about how officials are handling their official duties and not complying with their ethical obligations,” Chamberlain added.