The emergency ruling stopping Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department data was only "Part I" of a process that the Trump administration should be able to resolve, former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano told Newsmax on Monday morning.
A U.S. judge issued an emergency order early Saturday blocking DOGE from accessing personal and financial data for millions of Americans stored at the Treasury Department.
Appearing on "Wake Up America," Napolitano said the plaintiffs' filing in a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the Treasury Department was a rush job that did not include a response from the Department of Justice.
"This is what's called Part I, the emergent duty judge in the Southern District of New York, which is Manhattan," Napolitano told host Marc Lotter. "So, he said, 'let's just put everything on hold. This is not my case. It's not assigned to me. I'm just going to stop everything. No more divulging of information. It's going to a new judge on Monday, and she'll take the case from there.'
"In order to do that, he had to make a determination that the revelation of personal information to Musk's team could produce irreparable harm to those whose data and information was revealed. And he made that determination on the basis of the allegations presented to him, and with no response from the DOJ."
Lotter pointed out that the DOGE employees are federal employees with background clearances.
"I honestly think that what you just said, as accurate as it is, is not fully comprehended by the judiciary," Napolitano said. "I think the judiciary views Elon Musk and his team as some sort of outsiders that are just going to come in and tell the regular people how to work.
"Once that is resolved, and it can be resolved this week before the judge to whom the case is actually assigned, not the one that ruled on Saturday night ... once that judge recognizes what's going on, these people are as much government employees as anybody else. They can't take this information and use it for their own benefit or use it to harm someone. Then I think this will be resolved."
The judge also was shown a video clip of Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., suggesting a nationwide class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop DOGE's efforts.
"I respect Congressman Raskin. Like I, he's a former professor of constitutional law. But most respectfully, I don't think he knows what he's talking about here," Napolitano said. "There is no ability to sue the government for money damages because you weren't harmed."
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Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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