Case: Democratic National Committee v. U.S. Department of Justice

1:26-cv-02928 | U.S. District Court for the District of District of Columbia

Filed Date: Aug. 20, 2026

Case Ongoing

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Case Summary

On January 28, 2026, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, in a public display of the Trump Administration's continued claims of election fraud in 2020. Out of concern for further potentially illegal seizures, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed records requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) "concerning any planned seizure of ballots, voting machines, and other voting system components." On August 20th, 2026, after…

On August 20th, 2026, after five months with no responsive documents or even a list of withheld documents, the DNC filed this lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DNC argues that seizure of ballots leading up to the 2026 midterm election "would threaten the security, transparency, and ultimate validity of an election" as well as violate the First Amendment and Title III of the Civil Rights Act. Therefore, access to complete information about federal officials' plans for any such seizures is critical in the DNC's election integrity litigation.

The case was assigned to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

The case is ongoing.

Summary Authors

Talia Richland (9/5/2026)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74675703/parties/democratic-national-committee-v-us-department-of-justice/

Judge(s)

Kollar-Kotelly, Colleen (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Freeman, Daniel J. (District of Columbia)

Klubes, Benjamin B. (District of Columbia)

Miller, Adam B. (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Defendant

Lindsey, Zachariah (District of Columbia)

Judge(s)

Kollar-Kotelly, Colleen (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Freeman, Daniel J. (District of Columbia)

Klubes, Benjamin B. (District of Columbia)

Miller, Adam B. (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Defendant

Lindsey, Zachariah (District of Columbia)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Documents in this case

1 1:26-cv-02928	Complaint for Declaratory Relief	Aug. 20, 2026	Aug. 20, 2026 Complaint

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Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74675703/democratic-national-committee-v-us-department-of-justice/

Last updated Oct. 12, 2026, 3:10 a.m.

Docket for: DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ECF Number	Date	Description	Link
1	Aug. 20, 2026	COMPLAINT against U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ( Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ADCDC-12622594) filed by DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1: FBI Requeset, # 2 Exhibit 2: FBI Denial, # 3 Exhibit 3: FBI Appeal, # 4 Exhibit 4: CRM Request, # 5 Civil Cover Sheet, # 6 Summons DOJ, # 7 Summons AG, # 8 Summons USAO)(Freeman, Daniel) (Attachment 5 replaced on 8/21/2026) (gsk). (Entered: 08/20/2026) 1 Exhibit 1: FBI Requeset View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2: FBI Denial View on PACER 3 Exhibit 3: FBI Appeal View on PACER 4 Exhibit 4: CRM Request View on PACER 5 Civil Cover Sheet View on PACER 6 Summons DOJ View on PACER 7 Summons AG View on PACER 8 Summons USAO View on PACER	Clearinghouse
2	Aug. 20, 2026	LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (Freeman, Daniel) (Entered: 08/20/2026)	RECAP
3	Aug. 20, 2026	NOTICE of Appearance by Adam B. Miller on behalf of DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (Miller, Adam) (Entered: 08/20/2026)	RECAP
4	Aug. 20, 2026	NOTICE of Appearance by Benjamin B. Klubes on behalf of DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (Klubes, Benjamin) (Main Document 4 replaced on 8/21/2026) (gsk). (Entered: 08/20/2026)	RECAP
5	Aug. 21, 2026	REQUEST FOR SUMMONS TO ISSUE filed by DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE. (Attachments: # 1 Summons DOJ, # 2 Summons AG, # 3 Summons USAO)(Freeman, Daniel) (Entered: 08/21/2026)	RECAP
6	Aug. 21, 2026	ORDER ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR CIVIL CASES ASSIGNED TO JUDGE COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 08/21/2026. (lcckk1) (Entered: 08/21/2026)	RECAP
	Aug. 21, 2026	Case Assigned to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. (gsk)
	Aug. 21, 2026	Notice of Error- New Case
	Aug. 21, 2026	Case Assigned/Reassigned
	Aug. 21, 2026	NOTICE OF NEW CASE ERROR regarding 1 Complaint,. The following error(s) need correction: Incorrect summonses. Please locate the summons applicable to your case at www.dcd.uscourts.gov/new-case-forms and file using the event Request for Summons to issue. (gsk)
7	Aug. 25, 2026	REQUEST FOR SUMMONS TO ISSUE (Corrected) filed by DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE. (Attachments: # 1 Summons DOJ, # 2 Summons AG, # 3 Summons USAO)(Freeman, Daniel) (Entered: 08/25/2026)	RECAP
	Aug. 25, 2026	Summons Not Issued
	Aug. 25, 2026	SUMMONS Not Issued as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. Summons(es) incomplete. (zjm)
8	Aug. 28, 2026	SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zjm) (Entered: 08/28/2026)	RECAP
9	Sept. 8, 2026	RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 8/28/2026. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 9/27/2026. (Freeman, Daniel) (Entered: 09/08/2026)	RECAP
10	Sept. 8, 2026	RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 9/8/2026. (Freeman, Daniel) (Entered: 09/08/2026)	RECAP
11	Sept. 8, 2026	RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE served on 9/8/2026 (Freeman, Daniel) (Entered: 09/08/2026)	RECAP
12	Sept. 20, 2026	MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Lindsey, Zachariah) (Entered: 09/20/2026)	RECAP
13	Sept. 20, 2026	Memorandum in opposition to re 12 MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer filed by DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Sept 20 Email, # 2 Text of Proposed Order)(Freeman, Daniel) (Entered: 09/20/2026) 1 Exhibit Sept 20 Email View on PACER 2 Text of Proposed Order View on PACER	RECAP
	Sept. 21, 2026	MINUTE ORDER: The Defendant's 12 Motion for Extension of Time to Respond is DENIED. The Defendant has not shown good cause for an extension, given the potential risk for prejudice to the Plaintiff and the fact that the circumstances giving rise to the request are within the Defendant's control. The Defendant shall file an answer, or otherwise respond to the Complaint, on or before September 28, 2026. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 09/21/2026. (lcckk1)
	Sept. 21, 2026	Set/Reset Deadlines
	Sept. 21, 2026	Order on Motion for Extension of Time to Answer
	Sept. 21, 2026	Set/Reset Deadlines: Answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint due by 9/28/2026. (dot)
14	Sept. 28, 2026	NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Devin Iorio on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Substituting for attorney Zack Lindsey (Iorio, Devin) (Entered: 09/28/2026)	RECAP
	Sept. 30, 2026	Order
	Sept. 30, 2026	MINUTE ORDER: The Court is in receipt of the Defendant's 15 Answer. Upon consideration of this filing, it is ORDERED that the parties shall MEET AND CONFER and file a Joint Status Report proposing a schedule for further proceedings in this matter. This report should address the status of the processing of the Plaintiff's FOIA request, the anticipated number of documents responsive to the Plaintiff's FOIA request, the anticipated date(s) for release of the requested documents, whether a motion for an Open America stay is likely in this case, whether the parties expect that a Vaughn index will be required, and any other matters necessary to bring to the Court's attention. The parties shall file this report on or before October 14, 2026. Signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on 09/30/2026. (lcckk1)

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Case Details

State / Territory:

District of Columbia

Case Type(s):

Election/Voting Rights

Special Collection(s):

Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government

FOIA

Key Dates

Filing Date: Aug. 20, 2026

Case Ongoing: Yes

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Democratic National Committee (DNC)

Plaintiff Type(s):

Non-profit NON-religious organization

Public Interest Lawyer: No

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Defendant Type(s):

Law-enforcement

Case Details

Causes of Action:

FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), 5 U.S.C. § 552

Other Dockets:

District of District of Columbia 1:26-cv-02928

Available Documents:

Complaint (any)

Trial Court Docket

Outcome

Prevailing Party: None Yet / None

Relief Sought:

Attorneys fees

Document/Information

Relief Granted:

None yet

Source of Relief:

None yet

Issues

Voting:

Election administration

Voting: General & Misc.

Recommended Citation

Case Summary of Democratic National Committee v. U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/48406/ (last updated 9/5/2026).