DDF Sues Department of Defense Over Failure to Disclose Senior Leadership’s Records on AI Use
September 15, 2026
Legal action filed on behalf of independent news outlet, The War Horse, challenges DoD’s FOIA non-compliance, demanding transparency on senior officials’ AI usage, potential handling of classified data, and cybersecurity risks
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democracy Defenders Fund today filed a lawsuit on behalf of The War Horse News, an independent nonprofit news organization, against the Department of Defense, challenging its refusal to disclose how senior military officials use generative AI tools.
The lawsuit seeks to uncover whether and how top military leaders are exposing classified data to commercial AI platforms. The DoD failed to produce these records following a formal Freedom of Information Act request made by The War Horse News on July 31, 2026.
“The Pentagon’s rapid rollout of AI across our defense and intelligence sectors leaves zero room for error. Considering this administration’s past national security breaches, the American people need clear proof — not just promises — that AI is being used responsibly. America can’t have Secretary Hegseth asking ChatGPT how to win the war in Iran,” said Andrew Warren, deputy legal director at Democracy Defenders Fund.
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has aggressively pushed the Pentagon to embrace artificial intelligence, even putting up posters depicting himself as Uncle Sam and urging personnel to ‘use AI,’” said Paul Szoldra, managing editor of The War Horse. “Leaders should set the example. Service members and the public deserve to know how Hegseth and other senior officials are using these tools — and whether they are doing so safely, responsibly, and ethically.”
The legal complaint follows the department’s compliance failure amid a rapid push toward an “AI-first workforce,” marked by its partnership with Google Cloud’s Gemini for Government via GenAI.mil. DoD announced subsequent agreements to deploy commercial models directly onto classified military networks from providers including OpenAI, SpaceX, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle. Senior officials, including the deputy assistant secretary of war for critical technologies, have publicly reported using these platforms on a daily operational basis, making public oversight critical.
While the DoD has aggressively expanded AI integration across administrative, operational and analytical functions, experts and government officials have raised urgent concerns regarding privacy, oversight and security risks. During a security testing exercise over the summer, an AI tool successfully broke into sensitive and secure U.S. government computer networks within hours, a breach confirmed by leadership at the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command.
The lawsuit highlights the key unaddressed risks driving the original FOIA filing, including:
- Potential exposure of controlled unclassified information, “for official use only” data, operational plans, or classified intelligence through AI prompts.
- The risk of sensitive government data being retained, processed, or exposed by privately owned “black box” systems.
- Broad vulnerabilities that could allow hostile entities or internal tool failures to compromise national security infrastructure.
By failing to produce the requested documents within the legally required timeframe, the Defense Department has left the public in the dark regarding whether senior officials are entering sensitive or classified national security data into generative AI platforms. The complaint demands judicial intervention to force the production of records created by the secretary of defense, deputy secretary of defense, under secretaries, assistant secretaries, the director of the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, and key advisors.
Read the full complaint here.
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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.
The War Horse News is an award-winning, independent nonprofit newsroom that holds power to account, strengthens our democracy, and improves understanding of the true cost of military service.
For media inquiries, contact press@democracydefenders.org.
