US Judge Blocks Musk’s Cost-Cutting Team From Treasury Data

By Staff, Agencies

A US judge issued an emergency order on Saturday blocking Elon Musk's team from accessing the personal and financial data of millions of Americans stored at the Treasury Department.

Salam emphasized the need for reform to save the country, announcing plans for financial and economic reforms and the establishment of an independent judiciary.

The injunction, effective until a February 14 hearing, also mandates that individuals who accessed Treasury records since Trump's inauguration must "immediately destroy any and all copies" of the material.

Elon Musk, a former executive at Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, is facing allegations of illegally accessing sensitive data from 19 state attorneys general.

DOGE, a department under Musk's administration, requires Congressional approval and has implemented significant reforms such as halting foreign aid, cutting budgets, and promoting layoffs.

Judge Engelmayer's order warns states suing would face irreparable harm without injunctive relief due to the risk of disclosing sensitive information and increased system vulnerability to hacking.

Musk faced backlash after reports surfaced that he and his team were accessing sensitive Treasury data.

An internal Treasury assessment called DOGE’s access "the single biggest insider threat the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) has ever faced."

The lawsuit from states like New York and California accused the Trump administration of granting "virtually unfettered access" to BFS systems to a DOGE associate, posing cybersecurity risks.

The lawsuit also highlighted concerns that data from various federal agencies was being utilized in an open-source AI system managed by a private third party.