FAA accused of stonewalling demand for Buttigieg private flight data

The Department of Transportation is refusing to hand over private flight records for Secretary Pete Buttigieg, according to a conservative watchdog group suing for the files.

Americans for Public Trust said Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration has repeatedly missed deadlines to share Buttigieg’s flight logs and passenger records since the group first sought them this past November.

Fox News first reported the FAA’s foot-dragging.

APT also sent follow-up requests in January for the names of members of Congress and White House or other Biden administration officials who flew on FAA planes and for a list of the agency’s jets, The Post has confirmed.

None of the records have been produced despite Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests needing to be filled within 20 days of being filed — or 30 days if an extension is granted.

The conservative watchdog filed a lawsuit over the denied requests in June and met with attorneys for the federal government, who APT claims misled the group about how far along agencies were in compiling the relevant records.

Department of Justice lawyer Bradley Silverman later informed the watchdog that the process had not begun and that the FAA found the requests “unduly burdensome,” according to Americans for Public Trust executive director Caitlin Sutherland.

“It’s sadly ironic that the FAA is wasting taxpayer dollars by stonewalling our lawsuit for records about Pete Buttigieg wasting taxpayer dollars,” Sutherland said in a statement.

“Despite repeated promises they would hand over records, and then missing those deadlines over and over, we now have proof that the FAA did not meaningfully work on our request until after we filed a lawsuit,” she added.

The Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FAA has located 32 responsive records so far, but has declined to share them until Oct. 31. The agency has blown through deadlines and requested extensions to produce the records, federal court filings show.

“After waiting for the better part of a year, we’ve now been told the FAA needs nearly 3 more months to review and produce just 32 pages documenting Pete Buttigieg’s private jet travel,” Sutherland added. “This raises serious concerns about the political meddling this administration is willing to engage in to hide the truth from the public.”

APT revealed this past December that Buttigieg has flown at least 18 times on taxpayer-funded private jets since taking office, citing government schedules it obtained.

Buttigieg, 41, has taken trips on at least two Cessna 560XL planes managed by the Federal Aviation Administration to Nevada, Florida, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio and New Hampshire for departmental duties.

He also traveled to Montreal, Canada, in September 2022 to attend the International Civil Aviation Organization conference. Five of his senior advisers have also taken flights without him.

In February, the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General launched an investigation into Buttigieg’s use of FAA private jets.

Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao flew on the same fleet seven times in 2017, costing taxpayers around $94,000, according to a Politico report.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned the same year after running up a $1.2 million tab for 26 private jet flights.

Buttigieg may have cost taxpayers $5,000 per hour to fly on the jets, according to The Washington Post’s analysis of Chao and Price’s travel at the time.

White House special envoy for climate John Kerry has also caught flak for his use of a private jet to travel the world, since such aircraft emits more carbon dioxide than a commercial aircraft would.