Judge blocks Musk’s DOGE from accessing Treasury data on millions of Americans

A federal justice connected Saturday temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s arguable Department of Government Efficiency from accessing delicate records held by the Treasury Department, citing a hazard of “irreparable harm.”

The determination came 1 time aft New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that a multistate conjugation of AGs had filed a suit against the Trump medication for illegally granting the president’s “unelected billionaire friend” unauthorized entree to the Treasury Department’s cardinal outgo system.

According to the lawsuit, filed successful Manhattan national court, Trump’s determination would let Musk and members of DOGE to reappraisal millions of Americans’ idiosyncratic information, including taxation returns, Social Security numbers and slope relationship details, successful usurpation of national law. James claims DOGE wants to usage the accusation to chopped captious services, from wellness attraction to education.

“President Trump does not person the powerfulness to springiness distant Americans’ backstage accusation to anyone helium chooses,” James said Friday. “Musk and DOGE person nary authorization to entree Americans’ backstage accusation and immoderate of our country’s astir delicate data.”

James was joined successful the suit by the Democratic AGs of 18 different states, including New Jersey, Connecticut and California.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said it was not wide what DOGE is doing with the accusation successful the Treasury system, but called it “the largest information breach successful American history.”

“DOGE is an unlawfully constituted set of renegade tech bros combing done confidential records, delicate information and captious outgo systems. What could spell wrong?” helium said successful a connection Friday.

On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer sided with the attorneys general, citing “the hazard that the caller argumentation presents of the disclosure of delicate and confidential information, and the heightened hazard that the systems successful question volition beryllium much susceptible than earlier to hacking.”

Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, ordered Musk and anyone other unlawfully fixed entree to the strategy since Jan. 20 to “immediately destruct immoderate and each copies of worldly downloaded from the Treasury Department’s records.”

Engelmayer acceptable a proceeding for Feb. 14.

This morning, we won a tribunal bid blocking Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, from accessing Americans’ backstage data.

Musk and his DOGE employees indispensable destruct each records they've obtained.

I've said it before, and I'll accidental it again: nary 1 is supra the law. https://t.co/2lCS2FD1MT

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) February 8, 2025

Early Saturday morning, James took to the Musk-owned societal media level X to observe the victory.

“This morning, we won a tribunal bid blocking Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, from accessing Americans’ backstage data,” James wrote. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll accidental it again: nary 1 is supra the law.”

Earlier this week, Congressional Democratic leaders moved to bar DOGE from gaining entree to the delicate information.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his Senate counterpart, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, announced authorities Thursday aimed astatine stopping “unlawful meddling by DOGE oregon different entities successful the Treasury Department’s outgo system.”

Elon Musk, left, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. (AP)

“Why does Elon Musk and his minions request entree to the names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birthdates and slope relationship accusation of millions of Americans?” Jeffries asked astatine a property conference.

The Brooklyn Democrat slammed Musk’s determination arsenic a “power grab.”

A Treasure Department spokesperson did not instantly respond to a petition for remark Saturday afternoon.