The following information is from Judicial Watch.

Judicial Watch has announced that Judge Reggie B. Walton has ordered the US State Department to explain its claim that the recipients of a Biden-era United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Gaza aid grant cannot be disclosed because the agency’s workers could be put at risk by Israel.

At a court hearing on the issue, Judge Walton was incredulous at the State Department’s argument, as it necessarily implied that it is the US Government’s position that US ally Israel would purposely target and kill innocent aid workers in Gaza. The order comes in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking records from USAID regarding $27 million in grants allocated to “Miscellaneous Foreign Awardees” for use in Gaza.

Judge Walton’s order calls for a supplemental explanation regarding USAID’s reliance on FOIA Exemption 6, which protects against unwarranted invasions of personal privacy, in order to hide the recipients of the Biden USAID grant made shortly after the Hamas mass murder, rape, and kidnapping of Israeli and American citizens:

“[T]he defendant shall file at least one supplemental declaration explaining the defendant’s basis for asserting that its grant recipient—information about which the defendant seeks to withhold from disclosure citing Exemption 6 to the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552—and its affiliates could be targeted if the information requested by the plaintiff were released. Specifically, the Court requires more than a general assertion that aid workers have been targeted or harmed in the Gaza Strip in order to make a determination as to whether FOIA Exemption 6 should apply to the information at issue here, including for example, an explanation of who might target the grant recipient or its affiliates, and the kind of targeting about which the defendant is concerned.”

It is further ORDERED that, on May 27, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., the parties shall appear before the Court for a motion hearing.

“I attended the court hearing in this case today. This is incredible! The State and Justice Departments continue to cover up who in Gaza received American tax dollars from the Biden administration. The government has turned a simple FOIA case into a foreign policy scandal,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “Were terror-linked groups funded by USAID? It sure looks that way. Moreover, why are the State and Justice Departments pushing leftist smears against Israel in federal court? Secretary Rubio and Attorney General Bondi need to ride herd and stop this cover-up justified by a sly Deep State libel of Israel.”

On October 7, 2023, Hamas—a U.S.-designated terrorist organization—invaded southwest Israel, killing over a thousand people and kidnapping hundreds of others.

Judicial Watch sued in July 2024 after USAID failed to respond to an April 2, 2024 FOIA request (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Agency for International Development (No. 1:24-cv-02159)) that asks for:

• All records identifying the recipients of USAID funding under the $7,000,000 grant allocation awarded on or about November 15, 2023, and associated with Federal Award Identification Number 720BHA24GR00005.
• All proposals, applications, scope of work documents, or similar records related to any grant award or sub-award associated with Federal Award Identification Number 720BHA24GR00005.

USAID has produced records but refuses to disclose what organizations received the money.

On November 15, 2023, the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, a component of USAID, issued a $7 million grant for “multisectoral response in Gaza.” The grant was awarded to “Miscellaneous Foreign Awardees.” The same day, a “continuation” grant of $20 million was also issued for “multisectoral response.” USAID reported that over $282 million was obligated to the West Bank and Gaza in fiscal year 2023.

It was recently discovered that USAID provided millions of dollars in funding to extremist groups tied to designated terrorist organizations and their allies, according to a report published by Middle East Forum, a US think tank.

In July 2024, the Office of the Inspector General for USAID issued a report titled “Assessment of USAID’s Oversight Policies to Prevent the Diversion of Assistance to Hamas and Other Terrorist Organizations” in which it states:

“The USAID Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG) provides independent oversight of USAID’s programs, operations, and personnel and has previously identified USAID-funded assistance to Gaza as being at high risk for diversion and misuse.”

Regarding the UN’s processes for vetting their own staff, USAID Administrator Samantha Power noted—following allegations that officials working for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) engaged in the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel—“obviously the vetting is something that has to be significantly strengthened.”

Judicial Watch has also sued USAID for records regarding waste, fraud, and abuse tied to aid money sent to Ukraine.

In 2018, Judicial Watch obtained State Department documents showing top Soros representatives in Romania collaborating with the State Department in a program jointly  funded by, among others, Soros’s Open Society Foundations – Romania and USAID, called the “Open Government Partnership.”

Additional State Department records uncovered in 2018 showed USAID funding for George Soros’s left-wing nonprofit organizations in Albania. The documents dealt primarily with the activities of Soros’ top operative in Albania, Andri Dobrushi, the director of Open Society Foundation-Albania, who was actively engaged in channeling funding to what Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban calls Soros’ “mercenary army.” The documents showed U.S. grant money flowing through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that profess to promote “civil society,” while in fact attacking traditional, pro-American groups, governments, and policies.

Other records related to USAID’s activities in Albania showed that the Obama administration sent US taxpayers’ funds to a group backed by Soros, which used the money to fund left-wing political activities in Albania, including working with the country’s socialist government to push for highly controversial judicial “reform.” The records also detailed how the Soros operation helped the State Department review grant applications from other groups for taxpayer funding.

Read the full court order here or below.

United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Judicial Watch, Inc. v. United States Agency for International Development
Civil Action No. 24-2159 (RBW)

ORDER

In accordance with the oral rulings issued by the Court at the motion hearing held on May 6, 2025, it is hereby ORDERED that, on or before May 23, 2025, the defendant shall file at least one supplemental declaration explaining the defendant’s basis for asserting that its grant recipient—information about which the defendant seeks to withhold from disclosure citing Exemption 6 to the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552—and its affiliates could be targeted if the information requested by the plaintiff were released.

Specifically, the Court requires more than a general assertion that aid workers have been targeted or harmed in the Gaza Strip in order to make a determination as to whether FOIA Exemption 6 should apply to the information at issue here, including, for example, an explanation of who might target the grant recipient or its affiliates, and the kind of targeting about which the defendant is concerned.

It is further

ORDERED that, on May 27, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., the parties shall appear before the Court for a motion hearing. The parties shall appear in Courtroom 16, 6th Floor, E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse, 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.

SO ORDERED this 6th day of May, 2025.
Reggie B. Walton
United States District Judge