Federal Judge blocks Elon Musk’s Doge access to the US Treasury Confidential Material

A federal judge blocked early on Saturday the access of the Department of Government Efficiency of Elon Musk to the records of the Treasury Department that contain confidential personal data such as the number of social security or bank accounts of millions of Americans.

The Judge of the District Paul Engelmayer issued the order after 19 General Democratic prosecutors sued President Donald Trump. The case, presented in the Federal Court of New York City, alleges that the Government allowed the Musk team to access the Central Treasury Payment System in violation of the Federal Law.

The payment system manages tax reimbursements, social security benefits or veteran aid, among other things, and moves billions of dollars each year while handling a wide network of personal and financial data of Americans.

Engelmayer, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, also ordered that any person who has been forbidden to access sensitive information since January 20 must immediately destroy all copies of the material discharged from the systems of the Treasury Department .

The judge set a hearing for February 14.

The White House had not responded before one at the request of comments about the presentation of the lawsuit.

The Musk government efficiency department, also known as Doge, was created to discover and eliminate what the Trump administration has described as unnecessary governmental expenses. Doge’s access to treasure records, as well as its inspection of several government agencies, has caused a generalized concern among critics about Musk’s growing power, while supporters have applauded the idea of ​​controlling the bulky government finances.

Musk has mocked Doge’s criticisms on his social media platform X, while he says he is saving millions of dollars to taxpayers.

The New York Attorney General, Letitia James, whose office filed the lawsuit, said that Doge’s access to the data of the Estaries poses security problems and the possibility of an illegal freezing of federal funds.

“This group not elected, led by the richest man in the world, is not authorized to have this information, and explicitly sought this unauthorized access to illegally block the payments on which millions of Americans depend, payments for medical assistance, child care and other essential programs, ”James said in a video posted by his office on Friday.

James, a Democrat who has been one of Trump’s main antagonists, said the president has no power to give the private information of the Americans whom he chooses, and cannot suspend federal payments approved by Congress.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin also participate.

The lawsuit argues that Doge’s access to treasure records could interfere with the funds already assigned by Congress, which would exceed the statutory authority of the Treasury Department. In addition, he affirms that Doge’s access violates the federal administrative law and the doctrine of separation of powers from the Constitution.

It also accuses the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Besent, to change the long -standing policy of the department to protect confidential personal and financial information and allow the Musk team to access its payment systems.

«This decision did not take into account the legal obligations of protecting these data and ignored the privacy expectations of federal fund recipients,» including states, veterans, retirees and taxpayers, maintains the demand.

Connecticut Attorney General, William Tong, said it is not clear what he is doing with information in treasure systems.

«This is the biggest data filtration in the history of the United States,» said Tong in a statement on Friday. “Doge is a band of renegade technologists constituted that reviews confidential records, sensitive data and critical payment systems. What could go wrong?

The Department of the Treasury has affirmed that the review seeks to evaluate the integrity of the system and no changes are being made. According to two people familiar with the process, the Musk team began their research looking for roads to suspend payments made by the United States Agency for International Development, which Trump and Musk are trying to dismantle. The two people talked to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

On the other hand, Democratic legislators are looking for the Treasury Department to investigate Doge access to the government’s payment system.

In addition, unions and defense groups have filed a demand to block the review of the payment system due to concerns about their legality. On Thursday, a judge in Washington temporarily restricted access to two employees with “reading only” permits.

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