Raskin Targets Musk and Trump with Data Privacy Lawsuit Over DOGE Access to Treasury Systems
Unfiled Class Action Alleges Privacy Breach; Social Media Debates Motive and Missteps, but No Evidence of Violation Confirmed Yet
Congressman Jamie Raskin is at it again. He has announced his intent to file a class action lawsuit against Elon Musk and the Trump administration to challenge the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE is simply the renamed unit of Barack Obama’s U.S. Digital Service (USDS) tech unit. Though no such lawsuit has yet been filed, Raskin alleges DOGE has been given unauthorized access to sensitive U.S. Treasury data, including Americans' personal financial data. Meanwhile, some of the DOGE team are sleeping on cots brought in to their offices at the EOB.
Raskin alleges that DOGE breached data privacy when it accessed the Treasury’s payment systems, but this has not been proven. We do know DOGE had “read-only” access to the payment systems, and we do not have any information that any violations of the Privacy Act of 1974 occurred, as Raskin alleges. Nor do we see any violations of the U.S. Constitution or any other law, but if Raskin & Co. do actually file the lawsuit, then the courts will work it out. So far, it has been nothing more than a fundraising effort for Musk and Trump haters. Raskin’s words have created a firestorm online and on television, and it’s a mystery why some in Congress are fighting so hard against an effort to ferret out waste, fraud, and abuse of U.S. taxpayer money.
On social media, as you can expect, there is significant discussion about DOGE and Raskin’s allegation that something nefarious is afoot beyond just trying to find ways to make government operations more secure and efficient while ferreting out waste, fraud, and abuse. There have also been social media posts about potential counter-lawsuits or legal actions against Raskin, arguing he might be the one interfering with governmental duties or misrepresenting his constituents.
DOGE has only been in operation a couple of weeks and says it has uncovered billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer monies. For instance, it uncovered that the Treasury Department sent fraudulent payments, including payments to terrorist groups. DOGE announced it found approximately $247 billion of improper payments across 18 agencies in fiscal year 2022. It has uncovered that USAID was far more than just a humanitarian aid organization, and billions went beyond the organization’s original mandate envisioned by its creator John F. Kennedy, Jr.
As Musk has stated, this is “just the tip” in DOGE’s effort to save the federal government $4 billion per day. The next effort is for DOGE to go after the Department of Defense, where they expect to find more fraud and abuse of the federal government and taxpayers.
Even comedian Jon Stewart is aghast at the arrogance of government people when it comes to managing U.S. taxpayer money: