Public Domain this week sued President Trump’s Interior Department for the third time. Like our previous lawsuits, we filed our latest litigation in federal court in Washington, D.C. to force the agency to release public records.
We seek to obtain the emails and communications of Karen Budd-Falen, one of the most powerful political appointees at DOI and a major focus of our reporting in recent months. Budd-Falen has been embroiled in scandal ever since Public Domain late last year first uncovered her family’s ethically-dubious business dealings with a foreign mining company that operates on DOI-managed lands in Nevada. After our initial expose, Democrats in Congress called on DOI’s Inspector General to launch an ethics probe into Budd-Falen.
Budd-Falen, meanwhile, has continued to generate controversy given her many potential conflicts of interest and her brazen policy machinations. She was a long-time activist attorney working on behalf of cattle interests and conservative ideological groups. Her former clients continue to rack up policy wins from the Interior Department she helps run.
As the Trump administration guts watchdog offices across the government, packing them with hyper-partisan loyalists, the potential for corruption within an agency like DOI has never been greater. It is left to the press and the public to sniff out such corruption, and hold those responsible to account. With our aggressive reporting tactics, including our ongoing litigation, we at Public Domain hope to do our part. Please support us if you can. Our paid subscribers make this work possible!
– Jimmy, Chris and Roque
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