The Department of Justice (September 21, 2026) filed a motion for summary judgment in federal court, which if granted by the judge would end David Grusch's federal FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Defense

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion for summary judgment in federal court, which would end David Grusch's federal FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Defense. Grusch claimed the Department of Defense conducted an inadequate search in response to his FOIA request for documents related to a purported "unauthorized disclosure complaint" about him, or related to any "unauthorized disclosure complaint" involving UAP/UFO. The DOD claimed its search followed the terms of Grusch's request, was very thorough, and found 22 potentially responsive documents totaling 6,632 pages. After review, 40 pages were released to Grusch on May 18, 2026. The cover letter accompanying the 40-page release stated that "some information has been withheld" under FOIA exemptions involving the decision-making process, attorney-client and attorney-work-product privileges, and personal privacy; it did not mention withholding based on classification or any other justification. The public filings do not clarify how many of the 6,592 pages identified as "potentially responsive" were ultimately deemed nonresponsive, or whether any responsive records were withheld in full under FOIA exemptions. Grusch has made public none of the 40 pages released in May, but he obtained them in heavily redacted form and published them via X on June 25, 2026. The DOJ/DOD memo asserts that the adequacy of the DOD search is the only issue remaining in the lawsuit. The memo contains no discussion of justifications for any withholdings or redactions. A 40-page release that Grusch obtained in June included a copy of a letter dated November 1, 2023, from Mark D. Dupont, who stated that an unnamed Air Force Intelligence Oversight officer raised concerns about Grusch but also informed IOD that the information had been properly coordinated, with no follow-on action needed. Grusch described the Air Force review incident differently in an interview, claiming the Air Force was "very afraid" when he went public. Neither Burchett nor Grusch had made the November 1, 2023 Dupont letter public, despite Grusch's claims about Air Force retaliation. The letter became public only after Grusch obtained it via FOIA and published it in June. Grusch's lawyers have until October 12, 2026, to file an opposition brief to the DOJ/DOD motion and memo. Most of the key documents in the Grusch FOIA lawsuit can be downloaded for free from Court Listener at courtlistener.com/docket/7235134…Only some accounts can reply.

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