Musk Highlights Potential Fraud in Treasury Payments Amid DOGE Legal Battle
Elon Musk alleges significant fraud in U.S. Treasury payments following a federal judge's ruling limiting DOGE's access to sensitive data. A hearing is set for February 20 to address these issues.
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In response to a federal judge's order that temporarily restricts the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) access to sensitive Treasury Department data, Elon Musk took to X, alleging severe fraud levels. This preliminary injunction, issued by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, was in favor of 19 Democratic state attorneys general who argued that providing DOGE "full access" to Treasury's payment systems constitutes a legal violation.
The judge has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 20, during which DOGE's access to crucial Treasury data—including details related to Social Security, Medicare, veterans' benefits, and tax refunds—will be limited.
Musk claimed that DOGE had already discovered significant issues with the Treasury Department's billing practices prior to the injunction. He indicated that there may be over $100 billion annually in payments to individuals lacking Social Security Numbers or temporary IDs and speculated that about half of that could be fraudulent.
"This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately," Musk remarked after the ruling. He further implied that previous Treasury officials prevented staff from investigating these discrepancies, crediting lower-level employees for their efforts to address the issue.
Musk outlined a goal agreed upon by DOGE and the Treasury, which involves requiring all outgoing government payments to include categorization codes to facilitate financial audits. He noted that this essential detail is often left blank, complicating the auditing process.
Additionally, Musk stated that Treasury payments need to contain a rationale in the comment field to justify the expenditure, emphasizing that this information often remains absent.
He made it clear that the initiative is focused on establishing a basic rationale for payments rather than passing judgment on them. Musk also emphasized the necessity of implementing a 'DO-NOT-PAY' list, which includes known fraudulent entities and deceased individuals, advocating for routine updates to this list.
Musk expressed frustration that such changes had not been enacted prior and revealed that entitlement payment waste could reach $1 billion each week, criticizing the attitude that prioritized complaint minimization over fraud prevention.
