Musk's department blocked from accessing US Treasury data
Elon Musk (Photo: Getty Images)
On the morning of February 8, a federal judge blocked Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing US Treasury records containing confidential personal data. In particular, social security numbers and bank accounts, Associated Press reports.
According to the source, US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued US President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in New York, claims that the Trump administration granted Musk's team access to the Treasury Department's central payment system in violation of federal law.
The Associated Press clarifies that the payment system processes tax refunds, social security benefits, veterans' benefits, and much more, sending trillions of dollars annually, while also storing a large network of personal and financial data of Americans.
Judge Engelmayer, now appointed by former US President Barack Obama, also said that anyone who has been denied access to confidential information since January 20 should immediately destroy all copies of materials downloaded from the US Treasury Department's systems.
He scheduled the hearing for February 14.
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump, answering questions from journalists, confirmed that he had instructed Elon Musk to review "almost everything," including spending on the Pentagon and education in the United States. According to the head of the White House, some of the things that will be found are quite bad.
