Elon Musk called for the impeachment of an Obama-era federal judge who ruled that President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency can't access personal and financial data stored at the Treasury Department.
U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer's order issued early Saturday morning restricted access to Treasury Department payment systems and other data to "all political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department."
Trump appointed Musk to head advisory DOGE, which has been tasked with finding ways to streamline government and reduce spending.
Engelmayer's ruling temporarily prevents DOGE from doing some work at the Treasury at least until a Friday hearing.
The case was brought against Trump, the Department of the Treasury and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent by attorneys general from 19 states on Friday.
"A corrupt judge protecting corruption. He needs to be impeached NOW!" Musk posted early Sunday on X while sharing a post by radio host Glenn Beck.
"This is an activist posing as a judge," Musk wrote on a Saturday post.
"This ruling is absolutely insane! How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent? That’s literally impossible! Something super shady is going to protect scammers," Musk also posted Saturday.
Engelmayer also ruled that any such person who has accessed data from the Treasury Department's records since Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration must "immediately destroy any and all copies of material downloaded."
In bringing the case, the attorneys general alleged the administration violated the law by expanding access to sensitive Treasury Department data to staff from Musk's DOGE.
The lawsuit from states including New York and California alleged that the Trump administration granted "virtually unfettered access" to Bureau of the Fiscal Service payment systems to "at least one 25-year-old DOGE associate" who had the "authority to view or modify numerous critical files."
Musk, the Tesla, SpaceX and X chief, is neither a federal employee nor a government official.
DOGE does not enjoy full status as a government department, which would require approval by Congress.
President Barack Obama nominated Engelmayer to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 2011.
AFP contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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