New York Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement after a federal court granted her motion for a preliminary injunction to stop Elon Musk and employees of his so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) from having unauthorized access to Americans’ private information:
“Giving the world’s richest man unauthorized access to our nation’s central payment system, and our most sensitive personal information, puts all Americans – and the essential funds they depend on – at risk.
“With this illegal power grab, Musk and DOGE are trying to wipe out vital programs and services – from health care to public safety to education – that our communities need. I led a coalition of attorneys general to put a stop to this lawlessness, and a federal court has yet again blocked their access to our confidential information.
“We won a court order stopping unauthorized, unelected, and unvetted individuals like Elon Musk from accessing our nation’s most sensitive financial information. We will continue to fight to defend the rule of law and protect all Americans from this administration’s destruction.”
On February 7, Attorney General James led a coalition of 18 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop the unauthorized access to Americans’ private information. Attorney General James’ lawsuit asserts that the Trump administration illegally provided Elon Musk and DOGE unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system, and therefore to individual Americans’ and states’ sensitive information, including social security numbers and bank account information.
On the morning of February 8, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York granted Attorney General James’ motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the Trump Administration from granting DOGE access to Americans’ most sensitive personal information and ordering them to immediately destroy any and all copies of records they had already obtained.
Now, Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York granted Attorney General James and the coalition’s motion for a preliminary injunction, barring the government from allowing unauthorized government employees like Elon Musk and DOGE to access the Treasury’s central payment system while the coalition’s lawsuit proceeds.
Joining Attorney General James in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
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