IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS 

TYLER DIVISION

THE DAILY WIRE, LLC et al., 

Plaintiffs,

v.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT

OF STATE et al., 

Defendants.

Civil Action No. 6:23-cv-00609-JDK

STIPULATED REVISED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

REGARDING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

1. With the agreement of the parties, the Court having determined that there is good

cause for issuance of a protective order pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) to govern 

the disclosure, use, and handling by the parties and their respective agents, successors, personal 

representatives and assignees of certain information and items produced and received in discovery 

in the above-captioned action, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows: 

A. Definitions

2. “Action” shall mean the case captioned The Daily Wire, LLC et al. v. United States

Department of State et al., No. 6:23-cv-00609-JDK (E.D. Tex.). 

3. “Confidential Information” shall mean information that, at the time of its

production in discovery in the action, or thereafter, is designated confidential by the Producing 

Party because of a good faith belief that the information: (a) is non-public information designated 

or treated as For Official Use Only (“FOUO”), Sensitive But Unclassified (“SBU”), or that is 

protected or restricted from disclosure under the terms of any statute, regulation, or applicable law;

1

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 1 of 16 PageID #: 2105
(b) is a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information as such

terms are used in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)(1)(G); (c) contains personal, financial, 

medical or other private information relating to an individual that would properly be redacted from 

any public court filing pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2; (d) is information protected 

by the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C § 552a; (e) information that is designated 

“Attorney’s Eyes Only” (see below) or (f) all other information not identified herein that the parties

agree in writing or the Court orders qualifies for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 

26(c). Confidential Information does not include any information that is readily available or 

generally known to the public, including information that would be produced in response to a 

Freedom of Information Act request, or information that a party receives independent of the 

discovery process in this Action but is not (i) obtained directly or indirectly from any person who 

disclosed it without required authorization or (ii) obtained directly or indirectly from any person 

who disclosed it notwithstanding having received it under a request of confidentiality.

4. “Attorney’s Eyes Only” refers to material that the designating party believes in

good faith is not generally known to others and has significant competitive value such that 

unrestricted disclosure to others would create a substantial risk of serious injury and that the 

designating party would not normally reveal to third parties except in confidence or has undertaken 

with others to maintain it in confidence. The designation is reserved for information that constitutes 

proprietary financial, technical, competitive, or commercially sensitive information that the 

designating party maintains as highly confidential in its business, including but not limited to 

information relating to future products or services, strategic plans, non-public financial data, 

documents that would reveal trade secrets, licensing documents or licensing communications, and 

settlement agreements or settlement communications, the disclosure of which is likely to cause 

harm to the competitive position of the designating party. Copies, abstracts, compilations, 

2

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 2 of 16 PageID #: 2106
summaries, and extracts of materials designated as attorneys’ eyes only will also be treated as 

Attorney’s Eyes Only material.

5. “Disclose” (or forms thereof) shall mean to distribute, provide, or otherwise make

available for access, viewing, or copying. “Disclose” shall include the actual covered document 

or item as well as the contents or information contained therein, such that disclosing a copy, 

summary, paraphrase, or characterization, orally or in writing, would be considered a disclosure 

of the document itself for purposes of this Protective Order. 

6. “Document” shall mean all items listed in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

34(a)(1)(A) & (B).

7. “Challenging Party” shall mean any party who challenges the designation of

information as Confidential Information under this Protective Order. 

8. “Designating Party” shall mean the party designating or seeking to designate

information and have it treated as Confidential Information pursuant to this Protective Order. 

Nothing in this Protective Order shall restrict the right of any Party to designate as confidential a 

document produced by another Party or Third Party. 

9. “Producing Party” shall mean the person or party producing discovery in the

Action.

10. “Receiving Party” shall mean any party that receives information that has been

designated as Confidential Information. 

11. Personal identifying information (“PII”) is information that permits the identity of

an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred and includes names and personal information— 

such as but not limited to Social Security numbers, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, 

and any other contact information. 

B. Purpose, Scope, and Limitations of Protective Order

3

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 3 of 16 PageID #: 2107
12. This Protective Order applies to discovery, pre-trial, trial (to the extent approved

by the Court), and post-trial proceedings in this action, whether the Documents are produced by a 

party or a person or entity that is not a party to this action (a “non-party”). This Order binds the 

Parties and their respective agents, successors, personal representatives, and assignees.

13. Nothing in this Protective Order supersedes existing independent statutory, law

enforcement, national security, or regulatory obligations imposed on a Party, and this Protective 

Order does not prohibit or absolve the Parties from complying with such other obligations. 

14. This Protective Order shall not prejudice any party’s ability to challenge the use or

disclosure of information other than information designated as Confidential Information under this 

Protective Order in this Action. A party’s compliance with the terms of this Protective Order shall 

not operate as an admission that any particular material is or is not (a) confidential, (b) privileged, 

or (c) admissible in evidence at trial.

15. The protections conferred by this Protective Order do not cover any information (i)

properly in the public domain; or (ii) that becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to 

a Receiving Party as a result of publication not involving a violation of this Protective Order, 

including becoming part of the public record in this Action through trial or otherwise. 

16. This Protective Order governs the disclosure, use, and handling of all Confidential

Information, regardless of the format or medium in which such Confidential Information is 

generated, stored, or maintained. 

17. Any Confidential Information referenced in any public pleading or contained in any

Document that is publicly and properly filed with the Court in this Action by the Producing Party 

shall at the time of such public filing cease to be Confidential Information.

18. Nothing in this Protective Order shall restrict the right of any Producing Party to

4

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 4 of 16 PageID #: 2108
use its own Confidential Information for any purpose whatsoever, but if any such use results in a 

disclosure that causes the Confidential Information to lose its designation as Confidential 

Information, then it shall no longer be subject to any protection under this Protective Order. 

19. This Protective Order applies only to disclosures, uses, and handling of

Confidential Information occurring after the entry of this Protective Order. 

20. Neither the termination of this Action nor the termination of employment of any

person who has had access to any Confidential Information shall relieve such person of his or her 

obligations under this Protective Order, which shall survive. 

21. Any party may at any time seek modification of this Order by agreement or, failing

agreement, by motion to the Court. 

C. Method for Designating Confidential Information

22. Designations of Confidential Information shall be made by the Producing Party,

prior to or at the time of production, except as otherwise provided by this Protective Order.

23. The Designation of Confidential Information should be limited only to those

Documents that qualify under the appropriate standards or under the definition of “Confidential 

Information” in Paragraph 3 of this Protective Order. 

24. For documents designated under this Protective Order that are produced in paper or

an electronic form that allows endorsements or similar designation on the image, the designation 

shall appear by the inclusion of the marking of “Confidential Information – Subject to Protective 

Order” on each page of the document asserted to contain Confidential Information. For electronic 

information that is provided in native form or a format that is not amenable to visible endorsement 

on the image, the designation “Confidential Information – Subject to Protective Order” shall 

appear on the slipsheet accompanying the native document. Any copying or transferring of 

electronic files that are designated as Confidential Information must be done in a manner that 

5

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 5 of 16 PageID #: 2109
maintains the protection for all copies.

25. Documents that the producing party deems to fall into the category of materials for

Attorney’s Eyes Only should also be marked as such, in addition to containing the designation 

“Confidential Information – Subject to Protective Order,” on each page of the document asserted

to contain Attorney’s Eyes Only information. For electronic information that is provided in native 

form or a format that is not amenable to visible endorsement on the image, the designation 

“Attorney’s Eyes Only” shall appear on the slipsheet accompanying the native document. Any 

copying or transferring of electronic files that are designated as Attorney’s Eyes Only must be 

done in a manner that maintains the protection for all copies. 

26. For interrogatory answers and responses to requests for admissions, designation of

Confidential Information shall be made by placing within each interrogatory answer or response 

to requests for admission asserted to contain Confidential Information the following: “Confidential 

– Subject to Protective Order.” Likewise, to the extent such answers and responses include

Attorney’s Eyes Only information, designation as such shall be included within each answer or 

response asserted to contain such material.

27. For depositions, designation of Confidential Information shall be made by letter

from counsel within thirty (30) days of receipt of the official deposition transcript or copy thereof 

(or written notification that the transcript is available), listing the specific pages and lines of the 

transcript and/or any exhibits that should be treated as Confidential Information. Prior to the 

expiration of the above referenced 30-day period, the entire deposition transcript (including any 

exhibits not previously produced in discovery in this Action) shall be treated as Confidential 

Information under this Protective Order until the expiration of the 30-day period for designation, 

except that the deponent (and his or her counsel, if any) may review the transcript of his or her 

own deposition during the 30-day period subject to this Protective Order and the requirement of 

6

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 6 of 16 PageID #: 2110
executing the certification attached as Exhibit A. After designation of Confidential Information is 

made, the following shall be placed on the front of the original and each copy of a deposition 

transcript containing Confidential Information: “Confidential – Subject to Protective Order.” If the 

deposition was filmed, both the recording storage medium (i.e. CD or DVD) and its container shall 

be labeled “Confidential – Subject to Protective Order.” 

28. Pages of depositions asserted to contain Attorney’s Eyes Only material should be

designated as such pursuant to the same procedures used to mark those pages Confidential

delineated in paragraph 27. 

29. For any other Document or item produced in discovery in this Action not falling

within Paragraphs 23 to 25 above, designation of Confidential Information shall be made by 

labeling the item or the item’s container with “Confidential – Subject to Protective Order.”

30. For any other Document or item produced in discovery in this Action not falling

within Paragraphs 23 to 25 above, designation of Attorney’s Eyes Only material shall be made by 

labeling the item or the item’s container with “Attorney’s Eyes Only.”

D. Challenging Confidential Designations

31. A Challenging Party shall not be obliged to challenge the propriety of a designation

of Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only at the time made, and a failure to do so

shall not preclude a subsequent challenge thereto. 

32. The Challenging Party shall initiate a challenge to the designation of any

Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only under this Protective Order by providing to 

the Designating Party (a) written notice of each designation it is challenging and (b) a description 

of the basis of each challenge.

33. The Challenging Party and the Designating Party shall attempt to resolve each

7

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 7 of 16 PageID #: 2111
challenge in good faith and must begin a meet and confer process within seven (7) calendar days 

after the Designating Party receives notice from the Challenging Party. During the conferring 

process, the Challenging Party must convey its basis for the challenge and the Designating Party

must have an opportunity to review the applicable documents and either keep or change the 

designation. The Designating Party must communicate its decision(s) to the Challenging Party 

within fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt of notice of the challenge, or within a reasonable 

time agreed to by the Parties.

34. If the Designating Party decides to withdraw or change its designation, it shall give

notice of this change to all parties. 

35. If the Challenging and Designating Parties cannot come to a resolution within the

time set forth in Paragraph 33 or as otherwise agreed, the Designating Party, or a Party to the case 

if the Designating Party is not a party to the Action, may file a motion seeking a determination 

from the Court. If the Designating Party is a Party to this Action and fails to file a motion for a 

protective order within fourteen (14) calendar days after the time set forth in Paragraph 33, then 

the confidentiality designation shall be considered withdrawn. 

36. Any information designated as Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes

Only pursuant to this Protective Order shall be treated as such until such time as (a) the Designating 

Party agrees that it shall no longer be treated as Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes 

Only or (b) the Court rules that such information should not be treated as Confidential Information

and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only 

E. Disclosure, Use, and Handling of Confidential Information

37. A Receiving Party may use Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only

information in connection with this Action only for litigating or attempting to settle this Action, 

and shall disclose such Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information only in 

8

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 8 of 16 PageID #: 2112
accordance with the terms of this Protective Order.

38. Counsel of record are responsible for employing reasonable measures, consistent

with this Protective Order, to control access to and secure distribution of Confidential Information 

and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information. 

39. Confidential Information shall only be disclosed, summarized, described,

characterized, or otherwise communicated or made available in whole or in part to the following

persons:

a. Counsel (including outside counsel) for the Parties, other Federal Government

attorneys and associated personnel necessary to assist counsel in this Action, such

as litigation assistants, paralegals, and litigation support, information technology,

information or records management, investigative, secretarial, or clerical personnel;

b. Current or former officers, directors, or employees of the Parties who are assisting

with respect to this Action;

c. Any person who is indicated on the face of a document as its author or a recipient.

d. Disclosed witnesses, potential witnesses disclosed in the parties’ initial disclosures

(as supplemented), and deponents, including their counsel, but only to the extent

necessary to interview, prepare, or depose such witnesses for purposes of this

Action;

e. Court reporters and other persons not employed by this Court, retained to record or

transcribe testimony or argument at interviews or depositions in connection with

this Action;

f. Photocopying, data processing, and other support services that are reasonably

necessary to litigation in this Action;

9

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 9 of 16 PageID #: 2113
g. Any testifying expert (“Testifying Expert”) or non-testifying expert (“Consulting

Expert”) retained by any Party to assist in this action (including such of the expert’s

assistants or support staff as are reasonably necessary to facilitate the expert’s

work);

h. Mediators or arbitrators; and

i. This Court (including any judicial officer to whom this Court may refer this matter

for settlement purposes) and Court personnel, including persons recording or

transcribing testimony or argument at a conference, hearing, trial, or appeal in this

Action.

40. Disclosure of Confidential Information to the persons referenced in Paragraphs 39

a–h above may only occur after the person to whom the disclosure is being made has been given 

a copy of this Protective Order and has signed a declaration in the form attached hereto as “Exhibit 

A.”

41. Only the following persons are permitted to have access to material designated

Attorney’s Eyes Only: 

a. persons who appear on the face of designated material as an author, addressee or

recipient thereof;

b. counsel of record and their directly supervised administrative support staff, along

with other attorneys and, in the case of Defendants, other Federal Government

personnel necessary to assist counsel in this Action.

c. the Court and its personnel;

d. court reporters;

e. a mediator assigned to hear this matter, and his or her staff;

f. Any Testifying Expert or Consulting Expert retained by any Party to assist in this

10

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 10 of 16 PageID #: 2114
action (including such of the expert’s assistants or support staff as are reasonably 

necessary to facilitate the expert’s work); and 

g. witnesses under oath in a deposition or trial.

42. Disclosure of Attorneys Eyes Only information to the persons referenced in

Paragraphs 41 a–b and 41e–f above may only occur after the person to whom the disclosure is 

being made has been given a copy of this Protective Order and has signed a declaration in the form 

attached hereto as “Exhibit A.”

43. Persons receiving Confidential Information and/or Attorneys Eyes Only

information pursuant to the terms of this Protective Order are prohibited from disclosing it to any 

person except in conformance with this Protective Order.

44. Unless the Designating Party gives written permission, all material deemed

Confidential Information or Attorney’s Eyes Only information that is filed with the Court must be 

(1) filed under seal or in camera in accordance with the Court’s Local Rules and procedures, and/or

(2) redacted from any filing that is publicly available. Further, the parties shall redact PII from any

discovery materials other than the names of high ranking government officials, the parties, and 

witnesses already disclosed in public filings in this case— including but not limited to written

discovery documents, deposition transcripts and exhibits, and produced documents—produced by 

the parties or third parties in this case prior to publicly disclosing those materials, whether through 

a filing on the public docket or dissemination to third parties in any other way. At least seven (7) 

days prior to the filing on the public docket of any document governed by this Protective Order,

the parties must meet and confer to attempt to agree on proposed redactions for the public filing. 

45. If a Receiving Party or anyone subject to this Protective Order receives a subpoena

under Fed. R. Civ. P. 45 (or an equivalent mechanism under state law) or any legally enforceable

document request from any federal or state government official seeking Confidential Information 

11

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 11 of 16 PageID #: 2115
and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information as designated in this Action, the Receiving Party or such 

individual shall promptly notify the Designating Party and shall not disclose any Confidential 

Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information until the Designating Party has had a 

reasonable opportunity to inform the subpoenaed person or the Receiving Party either

(a) that the Designating Party does not object to the production of the Confidential Information or

Attorney’s Eyes Only information or

(b) that the Designating Party will seek appropriate relief or protection from the proper Court to

prevent the production. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 

protection of its designated Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information, and

nothing in this Protective Order should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a subpoenaed 

person to disobey a lawful directive from this or another court. 

46. If the need arises for any party to disclose Confidential Information and/or

Attorney’s Eyes Only information in a proceeding in open Court, it may do so only after giving 

seven (7) days’ notice to the Producing Party which, after a good-faith effort to meet and confer, 

may seek additional relief from the Court. 

F. Inadvertent Production of Confidential Information

47. Nothing herein shall be deemed or construed as a waiver of or as superseding any

applicable privilege, right of privacy, or proprietary interest with respect to any information or 

item. The Parties agree to follow Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5)(B) and the terms of any other agreement 

between the Parties with respect to any inadvertently or unintentionally produced or disclosed 

Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information. Nothing in this Protective

Order shall prohibit parties from withholding from production any document covered by any 

applicable privilege or other protection. 

48. If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it, or a person to

12

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 12 of 16 PageID #: 2116
whom it has disclosed Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information in 

accordance with this Protective Order, has disclosed Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s 

Eyes Only information to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Protective 

Order, the Receiving Party shall, upon learning of the unauthorized disclosure: (a) promptly notify 

the person(s) to whom the unauthorized disclosure was made that the unauthorized disclosure 

contains Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information subject to this 

Protective Order; (b) promptly make all reasonable efforts to obtain the return or destruction of the 

Confidential Information and to prevent further unauthorized disclosures of the Confidential 

Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information, including requesting the person who 

received the unauthorized disclosure to agree to be bound by the terms of this Protective Order by 

executing a declaration in the form attached as “Exhibit A”; and (c) within five (5) calendar days 

notify the Producing Party and all other Parties of the identity of the person(s) to whom the 

unauthorized disclosure was made, the circumstances surrounding the disclosure, and the steps 

taken to prevent any use or further disclosure of the Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s 

Eyes Only information that was the subject of the unauthorized disclosure. 

G. Disposition of Documents Containing Confidential Information

49. Except as provided in this Protective Order, within 90 days of the final termination

of this Action, whether by settlement, judgment, or other disposition or conclusion and all appeals

or opportunities to appeal therefrom, a Receiving Party shall take reasonable steps either to (a)

destroy or delete all items designated as Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only 

information or (b) return them to the Designating Party, depending upon the Designating Party’s 

stated reasonable preference, except materials that exist on back-up tapes or similar systems.

Materials that exist on back-up tapes, systems, or similar storage need not be immediately deleted

or destroyed, and, instead, such materials may be overwritten and destroyed in the normal course 

13

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 13 of 16 PageID #: 2117
of business. Until they are overwritten in the normal course of business, the Receiving Party will 

take reasonable steps to limit access, if any, to the persons necessary to conduct routine IT and

cybersecurity functions. In the course of disposing of information in its possession under this

paragraph, the Receiving Party also will take reasonable steps to notify persons to whom it 

distributed Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information pursuant to this

Order that such information should be returned to the Receiving Party or destroyed by the person 

possessing the information with written confirmation to the Receiving Party. 

a. For material that contains or reflects Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s

Eyes Only information, but that constitutes or reflects counsel’s work product,

counsel of record for the Partiesshall be entitled to retain such work product in their

files in accordance with the provisions of this Protective Order, so long as it is and

remains clearly marked to reflect that it contains Confidential Information and/or

Attorney’s Eyes Only information subject to this Protective Order.

b. Counsel of record for the Parties shall also be entitled to retain an archival copy of

all pleadings; affidavits; motion papers; trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts;

legal memoranda; correspondence; deposition and trial exhibits; expert reports;

briefs; other papers filed with the Court; and any other parts of the trial record, even

if such material contains Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only

information, so long as such material is and remains clearly marked to reflect that

it contains Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information

subject to this Protective Order. Even after the final disposition of this Action, the

terms of this Protective Order shall continue to govern the disclosure, use, and

handling of any Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information

unless and until its Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order

14

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 14 of 16 PageID #: 2118
directs.

c. The head of each agency Defendant or their designee may maintain copies of Confidential

Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information to the extent necessary to comply

with 44 U.S.C. § 3101 provided that government counsel may retain one complete set of any

materials that were filed, lodged, or otherwise made part of the Court record.

15

So ORDERED and SIGNED this day of

___________________________________

JEREMY D. KERNODLE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 29th July, 2024.

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 15 of 16 PageID #: 2119
EXHIBIT A 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS 

TYLER DIVISION

THE DAILY WIRE, LLC et al., 

Plaintiffs,

v.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT

OF STATE et al., 

Defendants.

Civil Action No. 6:23-cv-00609-JDK

CERTIFICATION

1. My name is

2. I have read the Revised Protective Order that has been entered in this case, and a copy of it

has been given to me. I understand the provisions of the Revised Protective Order and agree

to comply with and to be bound by its provisions. I also consent to the jurisdiction of this

Court for purposes of enforcement of the Revised Protective Order.

3. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed this day of by 

(Print Name)

Signed:

Case 6:23-cv-00609-JDK Document 69 Filed 07/29/24 Page 16 of 16 PageID #: 2120