Trump-Aligned Group Files FOIA Lawsuit Against Chief Justice Roberts and Former Judge

The group wants the court to enforce Freedom of Information Act requests related to alleged lawfare against Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Alito.

Chief Justice John Roberts attends the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 7, 2023. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/Getty Images

A legal watchdog group founded by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has filed a lawsuit against Supreme Court Justice John Roberts and former District Judge Robert Conrad over their alleged refusal to honor Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

America First Legal Foundation filed the suit, alleging that two judicial regulatory bodies—the Judicial Conference of the United States and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts—are being used by members of Congress in a campaign of “lawfare” against Supreme Court Justices Alito and Clarence Thomas.

Chief Justice Roberts heads the Judicial Conference, and Judge Conrad is director of the Administrative Office. Both are being sued in their official capacity as leaders of these organizations.

The Judicial Conference is a group of committees that meets twice a year to make policy for the federal court system; it is always headed by the sitting Chief Justice. The Administrative Office “handles the nonjudicial, administrative business of the United States Courts such as maintaining statistics and managing Court budgets,” according to its website.

America First said in court documents that Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) consulted with these two groups in an attempt to implicate Justices Thomas and Alito of ethics violations.

Sen. Whitehouse signed onto a May 2024 letter with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) accusing Alito of ethics violations related to an upside-down American flag flown outside his house in 2021, and another flag alleged to be sympathetic toward the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. The signees also accused Thomas of failing to disclose financial and conflict-of-interest matters, and they requested a meeting with Chief Justice Roberts to discuss the issue further.

In July 2024, Whitehouse asked then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate Justice Thomas for a string of other violations going back to 1991, including tax fraud and failing to disclose gifts like sports tickets and air travel. Previous inquiries had already cleared Thomas of any willful wrongdoing.

America First asserts that since the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office cooperated in these Congressional oversight maneuvers, which “are the province of the executive branch,” they are executive agencies, and subject to FOIA transparency.

America First submitted FOIA requests to the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office in July 2024, asking for all records relating to Justices Thomas and Alito, and any communications with Sen. Sheldon, Rep. Johnson, or their staff since April 2023.

The Administrative Office and an attorney for the Supreme Court both declined to honor the requests, saying that FOIA only applies to the executive branch of the government, not the judicial or legislative branches.

Even if the Administrative Office were subject to FOIA, the requested records “would not be releasable,” as those specific documents are exempt from FOIA requests, the Supreme Court’s attorney said.

A spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the United States Courts said the organization cannot comment on pending lawsuits.