Maryland AG among group planning to sue over Elon Musk, DOGE access to sensitive information
BALTIMORE -- Maryland's attorney general joined an alliance with nearly a dozen attorneys general to prepare a lawsuit over Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency's access to U.S. Treasury systems, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced on Thursday.
The attorneys general claim DOGE has illegally taken over sensitive systems in the U.S. Treasury.
According to CBS News, President Trump's executive order says that DOGE's purpose will be to "implement the President's DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."
However, the attorneys general say DOGE is given access to sensitive payment systems that contain personal information.
Musk says he has President Trump's approval to block wasteful spending. The attorneys general say the DOGE team is violating Americans' privacy and keeping the nation in the dark about what they are doing in those systems.
A federal judge ordered that two Musk allies will have "read only" access to Treasury payment systems, but nobody else, including Musk.
Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Nevada, Maine, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Vermont are included in the coalition.
The attorneys general released this joint statement:
"In the past week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has given Elon Musk access to Americans' personal private information, state bank account data, and other information that is some of our country's most sensitive data.
"As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told 'no,' but in our country, no one is above the law. The President does not have the power to give away our private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress.
"This level of access for unauthorized individuals is unlawful, unprecedented, and unacceptable. DOGE has no authority to access this information, which they explicitly sought in order to block critical payments that millions of Americans rely on – payments that support health care, childcare, and other essential programs.
"In defense of our Constitution, our right to privacy, and the essential funding that individuals and communities nationwide are counting on, we will be filing a lawsuit to stop this injustice."
