BLOCKED: Judge Halts DOGE Access to ‘Sensitive’ Treasury Records After Payments to Terr*rists Discovered

The Department of Government Efficiency has taken a hit, or at least a bit of a setback.

Early this morning a federal judge ruled that DOGE could not access the Treasury Department payment system containing payment records.

It will likely come as no surprise that the New York AG office of Letitia James is involved.

The lawsuit leading to the restriction originated from her office after an assortment of state Attorney Generals — 19 in all — sued President Trump on privacy related issues concerning DOGE’s access to the system.

Federal judge temporarily halts access to key Treasury payment system for Elon Musk-led government efficiency team and demands the destruction of any downloaded info https://t.co/000N7Nxihl

— CNN (@CNN) February 8, 2025

The case was filed in federal court in NYC, and went forward even after Elon Musk publicly acknowledged that DOGE had discovered rubber-stamped payments going out to TERROR GROUPS, seemingly without oversight.

Or at least, no record that any fraudulent or terror-related payments had ever been stopped — EVER.

The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups.

They literally never denied a payment in their entire career.

Not even once. https://t.co/kInoGWdw4C

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 1, 2025

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer put the restriction in place early this morning, according to a report in the New York Post:

Early Saturday, a federal judge blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans.

US District Judge Paul Engelmayer issued the order after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump.

The case, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges the Trump administration allowed Musk’s team access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system in violation of federal law.

The payment system handles tax refunds, Social Security benefits, veterans’ benefits and much more, sending out trillions of dollars every year while containing an expansive network of Americans’ personal and financial data.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office filed the lawsuit, said DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s data raises security problems and the possibility for an illegal freeze in federal funds.

More than a dozen states sued to restrict DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department payment system, according to an ABC news affiliate out of Chicago:

In a plot twist, an agreement was reached.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly agreed to allow two designated “special government employees” to maintain access to the Treasure Department system, but with read-only access.

In other words, they are the only two employees of DOGE that are currently allowed to access the system, but they are not allowed to change anything.

The agreement was reached this morning after the initial ruling halting access, according to a story by NBC News:

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly signed off on the agreement Thursday morning. The agreement will stay in place until she rules on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, which will be the subject of a Feb. 24 hearing.

Nandan Joshi, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said, “We’re pleased that the court acted quickly to put in safeguards to protect people’s personal information until the facts are sorted out. Americans who rely on Social Security and similar programs should be able to trust their government to handle their sensitive information with the utmost care. No one should ever face having their personal information used for improper purposes without their consent, which is why we’ve brought this case.”

Reached for comment on the order, a White House official said in a statement, “Those leading this mission with Elon Musk are doing so in full compliance with federal law, appropriate security clearances, and as employees of the relevant agencies, not as outside advisors or entities.”

Currently, the DOGE team has no legal ability to pause, delete, or add a payment to the system.

DOGE: 81yo Judge Kollar-Kotelly is the same judge that sentenced 75yo pro-life protester Paula Harlow to two years in prison. Now she's blocking Trump's administration from making changes to the Treasury Department's payment system. DOGE is blocked completely and Treasury… pic.twitter.com/mMHOEwuxWv

— @amuse (@amuse) February 6, 2025

Here’s the full text of that post:

81yo Judge Kollar-Kotelly is the same judge that sentenced 75yo pro-life protester Paula Harlow to two years in prison. Now she’s blocking Trump’s administration from making changes to the Treasury Department’s payment system. DOGE is blocked completely and Treasury officials have ‘read-only’ rights. This means that, if Trump’s team follows the rules, no one can pause, delete, or add a payment. This is no way to run a government. Also, the DOJ lawyer handling the case for the Trump administration is the same one that was involved in the case that provided a $2M settlement to Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. The swamp is deep – keep draining Mr. President.

The lawsuit in effect claimed that the new Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, improperly allowed Elon Musk’s DOGE team to access the payment system.

However, DOGE insists it has operated according to the law and proper procedure.

Whereas the lawsuit charges that DOGE is a rogue entity or third-party, DOGE has consistently argued that it is operating as a government employee whose express job is to audit the payment history and gut wasteful — or corrupt — spending.

“Billions” of fraudulent payments are still being approved by the Treasury, says Elon Musk, according to a Fox News report:

A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from obtaining access to certain Treasury Department payment records.

The order comes after the Justice Department on Wednesday agreed in a proposed court order to limit access to the sensitive records to only two “special government employees” within DOGE, who will have read-only permission. Kollar-Kotelly approved the motion in a brief order Thursday.

Several government employee unions brought suit over who could access the material as part of a government-wide evaluation of programs and systems, led by DOGE.

The lawsuit claimed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent allowed improper access to Elon Musk’s team, potentially exposing personal financial information to unauthorized individuals.

Under the order, only Musk ally Tom Krause, CEO of Cloud Software Group, and Marko Elez — an engineer and former Musk company employee — will continue to have access to Treasury’s Fiscal Service, but they will not be allowed to make any changes to the program.

The order identifies both Krause and Elez as “Special Government Employee[s] in the Department of the Treasury.”

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, claimed Thursday on X that “Billions of taxpayer dollars to known FRAUDULENT entities are STILL being APPROVED by Treasury.”

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A hearing is scheduled for February 24th, during which time a final ruling is expected to be handed down.

Until then, DOGE is in a holding pattern regarding the payment system for the Department of the Treasury.

This is a developing story.  We will bring you updates with more information as it becomes available.