N.Y. Times Co. v. U.S. Def. Counterintelligence & Sec. Agency (S.D.N.Y.) — denying the government’s motion for summary judgment and ordering the release of a “single, two-page document listing any security clearances granted to Elon Musk”; rejecting the agency’s invocation of Exemptions 6 and 7(C); with respect to Exemption 6, concluding that “substantial public interests in disclosure” outweigh Mr. Musk’s valid, albeit “limited,” privacy interests; noting Mr. Musk’s past history of “publicly discuss[ing] his drug use, NASA’s requirement that he submit to random drug testing . . . , and his contacts with foreign leaders”; explaining that the public interest in disclosure is particularly strong for two reasons, namely, (1) “the public has an interest in knowing whether the leader of SpaceX and Starlink holds the appropriate security clearances,” and (2) because “courts have repeatedly recognized a public interest in understanding the thoroughness, fairness, and accuracy of government investigations and operations”; with respect to Exemption 7(C), bypassing the threshold inquiry of whether the record at issue was “compiled for law enforcement purposes,” and holding that the balancing inquiry favors disclosure.
Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.