A lawsuit alleges the Treasury Department unlawfully granted access to sensitive financial data to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), raising concerns about privacy violations and the unchecked influence of a billionaire in government affairs.
A proposed order stemming from a lawsuit accuses the Treasury Department of engaging in an 'unlawful action' by granting access to sensitive financial data to Elon Musk 's Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ). The lawsuit, filed by a group of union members and retirees, alleges that providing DOGE access to the federal government's payment and collections system, which houses vast amounts of personal data, violates federal privacy laws.
\The proposed order, if enacted, would prohibit the Treasury Department from sharing payment records or access to its payment systems with DOGE. Exceptions would only be granted to two special government employees at the Treasury — Tom Krause and Marko Elez — who would be allowed 'read only' access for their official duties. The lawsuit argues that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acted improperly by granting DOGE access to this secure system, claiming that individuals not involved in government financial transactions should not have access to such sensitive information. The plaintiffs express concern that the longer this data remains accessible to unauthorized third parties, the greater the risk of irreparable harm, as there's a possibility of accidental or deliberate disclosure to even more unauthorized individuals. \The lawsuit sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the Treasury from disclosing information about individuals to DOGE and to mandate the retrieval and safeguarding of any information already obtained by DOGE or its associates. During a hearing before Judge Kollar-Kotelly, a Justice Department lawyer refuted the claim that Treasury was sharing Americans' personal information. Bradley Humphreys, the attorney representing the government, stated that the two DOGE appointees classified as special government employees, including Musk, have been granted access to the systems. However, there are no plans for these employees, or any other DOGE employees working at the Treasury Department, to share this information with Musk or anyone outside of Treasury.
Law Technology ELON MUSK DOGE TREASURY DEPARTMENT PRIVACY LAWS FEDERAL DATA GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY SCOTT BESSENT LAWSUIT SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
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