FAST MOVING FASCISM
.jpg)
February 7, 2025
RAW STORY
One of billionaire Elon Musk's allies has been installed as the head of the Treasury Department bureau that manages the nation's most powerful payment system after the tech mogul pushed out a career civil servant who previously held the role, according to sources.
Silicon Valley executive Tom Krause will become the financial assistant secretary of the Treasury Department, two sources with knowledge of the matter told the Washington Post, and replace 35-year veteran David Lebryk, who resigned after telling Krause his demand to stop payments on foreign aid was illegal and refused to comply.
The Musk ally now has control over the Bureau of Fiscal Service, which disburses more than $5 trillion in annual payments for Social Security, Medicare, tax refunds and thousands of other programs and agencies – all of which Musk demanded on social media should be unilaterally halted as illegal.
Another Trump ally, 25-year-old Marko Elez, left the bureau Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported on his racist social media posts, although Musk and vice president J.D. Vance have both publicly expressed support for bringing him back.
"I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life," the vice president tweeted. "We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back."
Elez had access to the bureau's trove of highly sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers and birthdays linked to individual taxpayers, and Krause remains under a court order not to share any of that data with anyone outside the department amidst legal challenges to the DOGE team's role there.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has defended members of Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency working at the department, saying Krause and Elez had “read-only” access to the payments system and were not permitted to make any changes to the complicated computer system used to manage the payments, although sources have told reporters they had some "write" or "insert" privileges.
Trump officials have thus far sought to downplay the DOGE staffers’ work at the Treasury Department. One has insisted that Krause and Elez only had “read-only” access to the payments system — a measure also mandated by a federal court order.
“When you say the DOGE team, these are Treasury employees, two Treasury employees, one of whom I personally interviewed in his final round,” Bessent told Bloomberg.
One of billionaire Elon Musk's allies has been installed as the head of the Treasury Department bureau that manages the nation's most powerful payment system after the tech mogul pushed out a career civil servant who previously held the role, according to sources.
Silicon Valley executive Tom Krause will become the financial assistant secretary of the Treasury Department, two sources with knowledge of the matter told the Washington Post, and replace 35-year veteran David Lebryk, who resigned after telling Krause his demand to stop payments on foreign aid was illegal and refused to comply.
The Musk ally now has control over the Bureau of Fiscal Service, which disburses more than $5 trillion in annual payments for Social Security, Medicare, tax refunds and thousands of other programs and agencies – all of which Musk demanded on social media should be unilaterally halted as illegal.
Another Trump ally, 25-year-old Marko Elez, left the bureau Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported on his racist social media posts, although Musk and vice president J.D. Vance have both publicly expressed support for bringing him back.
"I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life," the vice president tweeted. "We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back."
Elez had access to the bureau's trove of highly sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers and birthdays linked to individual taxpayers, and Krause remains under a court order not to share any of that data with anyone outside the department amidst legal challenges to the DOGE team's role there.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has defended members of Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency working at the department, saying Krause and Elez had “read-only” access to the payments system and were not permitted to make any changes to the complicated computer system used to manage the payments, although sources have told reporters they had some "write" or "insert" privileges.
Trump officials have thus far sought to downplay the DOGE staffers’ work at the Treasury Department. One has insisted that Krause and Elez only had “read-only” access to the payments system — a measure also mandated by a federal court order.
“When you say the DOGE team, these are Treasury employees, two Treasury employees, one of whom I personally interviewed in his final round,” Bessent told Bloomberg.
'Disgrace': Critics outraged by apparent confession at Trump's latest press conference
Matthew Chapman
February 7, 2025 3:58PM ET
RAW STORY
U.S. President Donald Trump mimics a weightlifter while he speaks at a dinner he hosts for Republican Senators at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump was finally confronted at a joint press conference with the Japanese prime minister on Friday about tech billionaire Elon Musk's rapid infiltration of government IT systems — in particular access to the system that handles almost all payments for the Treasury Department and gives Musk and his engineering team theoretical access to huge troves of Americans' Social Security Numbers and private financial information.
When a reporter asked Trump whether Musk and his "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) task force really needed that kind of access to Americans' sensitive data, the president replied, "Well, it doesn't, but they get it easily. I mean, we don't have very good security in this country and they get it very easily."
Commenters on social media were shocked by Trump's words — with many pointing out that this was essentially a confession that Musk's scheme isn't on strictly legal footing.
"JFC," wrote social media influencer Art Candee.
"Oh, very reassuring…" wrote Republicans Against Trump.
"Trashing our security and the fbi on the national stage is a gift to enemies and a disgrace," wrote author and TV personality Lea Black. "The press should call him out."
"Cc: Every attorney in the country filing suit against DOGE," wrote Center for International Policy adviser and former Senate staffer Dylan Williams.
"'They get it very easily' because Trump gave them unfettered access 'at his insistence,' wrote technology attorney and New York University professor Michael Kasdan. "I hope this is used in Court against them all."
Watch the original exchange below or at the link here.
Matthew Chapman
February 7, 2025 3:58PM ET
RAW STORY
U.S. President Donald Trump mimics a weightlifter while he speaks at a dinner he hosts for Republican Senators at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump was finally confronted at a joint press conference with the Japanese prime minister on Friday about tech billionaire Elon Musk's rapid infiltration of government IT systems — in particular access to the system that handles almost all payments for the Treasury Department and gives Musk and his engineering team theoretical access to huge troves of Americans' Social Security Numbers and private financial information.
When a reporter asked Trump whether Musk and his "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) task force really needed that kind of access to Americans' sensitive data, the president replied, "Well, it doesn't, but they get it easily. I mean, we don't have very good security in this country and they get it very easily."
Commenters on social media were shocked by Trump's words — with many pointing out that this was essentially a confession that Musk's scheme isn't on strictly legal footing.
"JFC," wrote social media influencer Art Candee.
"Oh, very reassuring…" wrote Republicans Against Trump.
"Trashing our security and the fbi on the national stage is a gift to enemies and a disgrace," wrote author and TV personality Lea Black. "The press should call him out."
"Cc: Every attorney in the country filing suit against DOGE," wrote Center for International Policy adviser and former Senate staffer Dylan Williams.
"'They get it very easily' because Trump gave them unfettered access 'at his insistence,' wrote technology attorney and New York University professor Michael Kasdan. "I hope this is used in Court against them all."
Watch the original exchange below or at the link here.
No comments:
Post a Comment