Elon Musk calls for impeachment of judge who restricted access to treasury department systems
Elon Musk called for the removal of the federal judge who restricted his federal spending task force’s access to Treasury Department payment systems.
“A corrupt judge protecting corruption,” Musk tweeted in the early hours of Sunday morning. “He needs to be impeached NOW!”
On Saturday, US District Judge Paul Engelmayer issued a ruling that barred special government employees and external officials from accessing systems containing sensitive information, effectively removing Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The ruling stemmed from a legal challenge initiated by 19 Democratic state attorneys general the previous day, expressing concerns about Musk and his team’s access to confidential data.
This incident represents another instance in the ongoing confrontation between Trump’s associates and the judicial system.
Trump and his supporters have consistently questioned the credibility of judges, courts, and law enforcement when their decisions have not aligned with the president’s preferences.
In explaining his verdict, Engelmayer highlighted two primary concerns, the potential exposure of sensitive and confidential information, and an increased vulnerability of the systems to security breaches, which led him to support the plaintiffs’ position.
Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provided Musk and his associates access to departmental systems.
Although the Treasury stated that Musk’s team had “read-only” privileges, which supposedly prevented data modification or deletion, Wired disclosed that one DOGE staff member received permissions to modify system code.
The authorised staff member, 25-year-old Marko Elez, belongs to a group of young individuals without prior governmental experience whom Musk selected for his task force. Trump assigned DOGE the significant responsibility of identifying $2 trillion in potential federal government spending reductions and savings.
Following the Wall Street Journal’s revelation of his racist posts on X, Elez stepped down but was swiftly reinstated by Musk. Additionally, a 19-year-old member of Musk’s team was dismissed from a cybersecurity organisation for disclosing confidential company information.
Engelmayer’s temporary order remains effective until Friday, when a decision will be made regarding the extension of the injunction during the legal proceedings.
