A federal judge is allowing the release of deposition videos of two former DOGE staffers, ruling that the risk of “embarrassment and reputational harm” is not enough to overcome the public interest in the videos.

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon on Monday lifted an earlier order requiring a group of nonprofits to remove the videos from the internet after lawyers with the Justice Department argued that the former DOGE staffers faced threats because of the depositions’ release.

While Judge McMahon acknowledged that the former staffers faced threats, she said the DOJ could not prove a “particularized harm” to the former staffers that would overcome the public interest in their official conduct as government employees.

  • Revolver1864@piefed.social
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    2 days ago

    The pretext it made them look REALLY fucken bad, people were (rightfully) very angry at their actions and were redressing their (former) employees in the form of threatening to end them lol.

    I watched 2 of them and there were a lot of “holy shit” moments.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Yeah, both of them looked like they were glitching the fuck out.

      Getting real questions that didn’t just pander to them. Something tells me they are used to being coddled all of their lives.

    • 8oow3291d@feddit.dk
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      2 days ago

      But seriously, what were the arguments given? Inconvenient objective reality is surely not a permitted reason, as you say.