Story highlights "It was a chaotic start to the commission," Shapiro said

The judge ordered that the commission to explain its process

(CNN) The head of President Donald Trump's voter integrity commission is reaching out to fellow panel members to ensure the group's meeting next month operates with "the highest levels of transparency," after the Justice Department fell on its sword about prior document disclosure failures to a federal judge in DC Wednesday.

"I wanted to contact you with a request regarding any written materials for the September 12 meeting," said Kris Kobach, vice chair of the commission in a letter to the other commissioners. "We want to ensure we operate with the highest level of transparency and in a way that allows the public to be fully informed of our commission's work."

Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Shapiro apologized to US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in court for what she called a "misunderstanding" over what documents the commission was required to produce in advance of its first meeting on July 19 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

"It was a chaotic start to the commission," Shapiro said. "There was a little bit of unknown and a little bit of disorganization in terms of how the meeting would happen."

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