suing to stop 'DOGE' invasion

Here's the latest on our lawsuit to stop Elon Musk and "DOGE" from illegally accessing the U.S. Treasury Department's database and payment system.

• On Wednesday, we appeared before a federal judge and argued for a temporary restraining order to block what DOGE is doing.

• On Thursday, the judge issued an order preventing Elon Musk and any additional DOGE-connected people from accessing sensitive Treasury data while our lawsuit proceeds to a hearing in two weeks.

• The judge's order restricts two Musk-connected men already housed at Treasury to "read only" access — meaning they are not permitted to modify or copy anything.

• And they are prohibited from sharing any information with Musk or anyone else outside the Treasury Department.

This is an important step to protect the privacy of the American people. But this lawsuit is far from over.

See our original note about this critical lawsuit, copied below in case you missed it.

Robert & Lisa
Co-Presidents of Public Citizen

P.S. If you've donated to Public Citizen, thank you. If a donation is not right, we get it. Either way, we wanted to keep you updated on the case.

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Public Citizen just filed another lawsuit against the Trump regime.

We are demanding an immediate halt to the massive and patently illegal invasion of privacy being carried out by Elon Musk's "DOGE" at the U.S. Treasury Department.

This new lawsuit follows the separate one we filed — just moments after Trump was sworn in on January 20 — about how his so-called Department of Government Efficiency is operating in secrecy.

Here are the basics on this new lawsuit:

• The Treasury Department possesses sensitive personal and financial information for millions and millions of Americans who send money to or receive money from the federal government.

• Federal laws protect such information from improper disclosure and misuse — including by barring disclosure to individuals who lack a lawful and legitimate need for it.

• But instead of protecting Americans' private information as required by law, Scott Bessent — Trump's jillionaire Treasury Secretary — allowed DOGE full access to the data.

• And he punished the Treasury employee who — in accordance with his job duties and the law — tried to protect that information from improper access.

• Public Citizen is representing the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees, and the Service Employees International Union in this case, with co-counsel at State Democracy Defenders Fund.

As our new lawsuit spells out, the scale of this intrusion into individuals' privacy is massive and unprecedented.

This lawsuit demands an immediate end to the systematic, continuous, and ongoing violation of federal laws that protect the privacy of personal information contained in federal records.

If you can, please donate today to support Public Citizen's work standing up to the Trump regime.

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For justice,

- Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen
 
 
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