TREASURY DEPT. SUED FOR GIVING MUSK ACCESS TO CONSUMERS’ PRIVATE DATA, INCLUDING BANK ACCOUNTS AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS

By Miriam Raftery 

Photo: Elon Musk and Donald Trump in Nov. 2024, via Speaker Mike Johnson

February 4, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Donald Trump authorized Elon Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to take total control of the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment system, locking out federal employees.  DOGE’s young tech workers gained access to the private data of nearly every American including taxpayers, Social Security and Medicare recipients, government employees, student and SBA loan recipients and federal contractors in direct violation of laws intended to protect sensitive data.  The information accessed by Musk’s team includes Social Security numbers, bank accounts, addresses and other data that if in the wrong hands, could lead to identity theft and looting of accounts.

“The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented,” states a lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court against the U.S. Department of the Treasury, its Bureau of the Fiscal Service which disperses payments, and newly appointed Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

The suit was filed by the Alliance for Retired Americans and two labor unions under the AFL-CIO:  The American Federation of Government Employees and Service Employees International Union.

“People who must share information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with Elon Musk or his `DOGE.’ And federal law says they don’t have to,” the lawsuit states. “The Privacy Act of 1974 generally, and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to taxpayer information, make it unlawful for Secretary Bessent to hand over access to the Bureau’s records on individuals to Elon Musk or other members of DOGE.”

The lawsuit seeks a temporary and permanent injunction to halt DOGE’s access to the Treasury system, though according to Senator Ron Wyden, ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, DOGE’s access has been “complete”; there is no way to know if the data has been further shared, or with whom.

Concerns have also been raised over the illegal shutting off of funding to any programs that Trump does not approve of.  Trump initially ordered a broad freeze on spending, even though Congress has the power of the purse strings under both the Constitution and a law passed by Congress during the Nixon era which prohibits a president from refusing to spend money allocated by Congress.

Trump later rescinded his memo ordering the freeze after a judge ordered a halt, CBS News reports. 

But Musk has already shut down all funds to U.S. Aid, the agency that provides foreign aid around the world, such as programs to ease hunger and prevent AIDS.  The agency’s website has gone dark.  Other funds halted thus far include money allocated by Congress for green energy programs and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Federal law requires that if a president wants funding reduced or halted, the president must ask Congress and cannot take action unless Congress passes a bill to change the funding mandates.

“Controlling the system could allow the Trump administration to unilaterally--and illegally--cut off payments for millions of  Americans, putting at risk the financial security of families and businesses based on political favoritism or the whims of Mr. Musk and those on his team who have worked their way inside,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, stated in a letter to Bessent on Feb. 2.

Though Trump has long touted Musk’s DOGE as an independent, non-governmental entity, after the lawsuit noted that Musk is not a federal employee, Trump’s White Houe announced that Musk is serving as a “special government employee.” Such employees work only part of the year and have less stringent conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements than full-time government workers.

The world’s richest man, Musk is  CEO of Space X and Tesla, which have received billions of dollars in federal contracts.