September 29, 2026 - Washington, D.C. – The nation’s leading pro-democracy organization is taking the Trump-Vance administration to court 
to force the government to reveal public documents they are attempting to hide relating to the possibly significant role Jennifer Hegseth, wife of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, plays in important national defense decisions.
In a complaint filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Democracy Forward is asking a court to order the Department of Defense (DoD) to produce public documents previously requested by Democracy Forward through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The FOIA requests seek documents and communications regarding the extent to which Jennifer Hegseth played a role in the Office of the Secretary, without holding an appointed or employed position at DoD.
“Our democracy cannot function effectively if the government is allowed to hide public information about how crucial decisions are made,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “If the Secretary of Defense is relying on anyone – including his wife – to help run his office, make important decisions, and avoid accountability, then they should be subject to the same ethics obligations as any and every other civil servant. This administration has a shameful record of complying with public records requests and we will continue to use every legal tool at our disposal to allow the people to know what their government is up to. Democracy demands transparency.”
Beginning in the spring of 2025, press reporting described Jennifer Hegseth as “playing a substantial and unofficial role” in the operations of the Office of the Secretary. Jennifer Hegseth, a former Fox News producer, was described by one Pentagon official as having a “very heavy hand and one of his closest advisers with access inside the building, which is very unusual for a secretary of war/secretary of defense,” the Times of London reported in August.
The complaint filed today asks the court to order the DoD to conduct a series of document searches requested by Democracy Forward, and to stop the government from destroying any public documents that might shine a light on the role Jennifer Hegseth played in important national defense decisions, including the recent series of lethal military strikes against vessels alleged to be engaged in drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Democracy Forward filed three FOIA requests in 2025 to shed light on the extent of Jennifer Hegseth’s unofficial role at DoD and her access to DoD information, personnel, and facilities. Though the DoD acknowledged receipt of Democracy Forward’s FOIA request, they stopped responding to inquiries about the information and have not produced the documents as required by law. Democracy Forward filed three additional follow-up requests in May of this year.
The case is Democracy Forward Foundation v. Department of Defense and the Democracy Forward’s legal team involved in this case includes Hart Wood, Daniel McGrath, Ron Fein, and Robin Thurston.
Read the complaint here.
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
Source: Democracy Forward
