NOTUS filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday, arguing that the agency is illegally withholding public records subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
The lawsuit stems from a Freedom of Information Act request NOTUS Senior Editor Dave Levinthal filed with USAID in November 2024.
The request seeks records detailing how USAID officials anticipated and reacted to the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Shortly after becoming president in January 2025, President Donald Trump oversaw the effective dismantling of USAID, an agency founded during the Kennedy administration and that was — until recently — the world’s largest foreign aid agency.
By law, USAID has 20 working days after receiving a FOIA to disclose the scope of the responsive documents it would produce and detail any plans to withhold under any legal exemptions.
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But 16 months have passed, and USAID has done neither. The agency continues to withhold all records responsive to Levinthal’s request, and the agency has offered no indication of when it will release the records. It has routinely ignored numerous requests for updates and status reports.
“NOTUS will aggressively pursue the public’s right to understand how their federal government is working — or not working — and seek court judgments when necessary,” NOTUS Editor-in-Chief Tim Grieve said. “This is especially the case when a federal agency refuses to comply with federal law by withholding records Americans are entitled to see.”
The case is titled NOTUS Media LLC & Levinthal v. U.S. Agency for International Development. Law firm Ballard Spahr LLP is representing NOTUS.
The lawsuit, which is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asks the court to direct USAID to immediately release unredacted records responsive to Levinthal’s FOIA request and to set a deadline for compliance.
For press inquiries, email chief of staff Justin Peligri: justinpeligri@notus.com
About NOTUS: NOTUS is a newsroom like no other: a mix of veteran reporters and editors working with some of the country’s most promising up-and-coming reporters — individuals from different regions, different backgrounds, and different beliefs who have come to Washington as fellows at the Allbritton Journalism Institute.
Together, we cover government and politics with the fresh eyes of newcomers and the expertise of veterans. We call it like we see it, no matter whose narrative it fits or how many clicks it will get.
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