President Donald Trump's commission was expected to issue a report early next year. But several members say it has been dormant for a couple of months and there appears to be little chance of a report emerging in the next few months. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Court: Trump voter fraud commission must give Democrat member more access Maine secretary of state is entitled to see and copy the panel's records, judge rules.

President Donald Trump's commission investigating voter fraud must give one of its Democratic members access to more of the panel's records, a federal judge ruled Friday night.

U.S. District Court Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap appeared to have been denied documents needed to be an active player in the deliberations of what is formally known as the President's Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.


"Plaintiff has a right, as a commissioner, to 'fully participate' in the proceedings of the Commission. In the Court’s view, his assertion that he will be unable to fully participate without the information contained in relevant documents that the Commission has not shared with the public has merit," wrote Kollar-Kotelly, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.

The judge said she was issuing an injunction to prevent "dysfunction" at the commission, but her effort to keep the panel on track may be too little, too late. The group held its last meeting in September and officials have said it will not meet again this year.

The commission was expected to issue a report early next year. But several members say it has been dormant for a couple of months and there appears to be little chance of a report emerging in the next few months.

In her 24-page opinion, Kollar-Kotelly cited three instances where she said Dunlap was not given adequate access to information needed to participate in the panel's deliberations. The judge said Dunlap should have been informed about and seen a draft of a controversial request asking states to submit their voter rolls and other sensitive, but publicly-available, information about voters.

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The judge also said the Maine official should have been told about proposals related to the location, speakers and content of the group's September meeting. And she ruled that Dunlap should have been included in planning for the panel's next meeting before a Minnesota group was invited to attend.

Dunlap did not request access to all records related to the commission and Kollar-Kotelly did not rule that he is entitled to them, but she said he needs more access to carry out his responsibilities on the panel.

In a statement, Dunlap said: "This ruling is a clear vindication of what I have fought for from the start: the right to participate in the important work of this commission and hopefully achieve an outcome that benefits the American people."

A spokeswoman for Vice President Mike Pence, who serves as chairman of the commissions, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Justice Department spokesman also had no immediate comment.

Kollar-Kotelly's ruling was based largely on a 1999 D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that an aviation safety commission headed by Vice President Al Gore denied one of its members access to records used to produce its report.