APT has alleged that its requests to obtain FAA records detailing Buttigieg's flights have been delayed numerous times, calling the agency's decision to hide behind a veil of secrecy a disservice to the American people.
"Pete Buttigieg abused taxpayer dollars by using a private jet to fly domestically and internationally," said APT executive director Caitlin Sutherland in a statement to Fox News. She lamented that while her group had helped shine a light on Buttigieg's use of private government jets months ago, "his agency refuses to tell the American people how much they're on the hook for his extravagant travel arrangements."
Sutherland explained that her group had decided to file a lawsuit "on behalf of all Americans who deserve to know how their money is being spent by this administration," slamming Buttigieg and the FAA for having "stonewalled and refused to adhere to the law for releasing public records."
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Under FOIA guidelines, federal agencies must produce requested records within 20 to 30 business days. However, as Fox News reports, the FAA acknowledged that it had received the APT's November 2022 and January 2023 Freedom of Information Act requests but never adhered to the deadlines it set and eventually delayed the sending of the records indefinitely.
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June 17, 2023
"The FAA has not communicated with APT concerning whether the FAA will fulfill its FOIA requests since missing two self-imposed extended deadlines of May 1 and May 18, 2023," the APT wrote in their lawsuit, "nor has the FAA provided any indication as to when APT can expect its requests to be processed."
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Buttigieg, an ardent climate change activist, has been called out for using private jets. An investigation by Fox News revealed that he took 18 flights using taxpayer-funded aircraft between 2021 and 2022, many of which were cross-country. The Department of Transportation responded to the investigation not by denying that Buttigieg had used the private jets but by saying that "he flies commercially the vast majority of the time."
The APT's lawsuit seeks to hold the FAA accountable for its lack of transparency and ensure that Americans are informed about how their tax dollars are being spent.
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