Is Elon Musk in Trouble?

[purina]

DOGE Employees Ordered to Stop Using Slack While Agency Transitions to a Records System Not Subject to FOIA

Employees at Elon Musk's agency have been told "OMB is asking us to stop generating new slack messages starting now."

www.404media.co

The messages indicate that, under Elon Musk’s leadership, DOGE is actively taking steps to make sure its communications and records are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, a records transparency law commonly used by journalists and lawyers to hold government accountable. Instead, DOGE is asserting that rather than reporting up through the Office of Management and Budget as the United States Digital Service did for years, it is reporting through the Executive Office of the President and to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Under OMB, it was generally subject to FOIA. Under the White House Chief of Staff, records it creates are generally not subject to FOIA.

This would make DOGE a Presidential Records Act entity, meaning records it creates are not FOIAble until years after a president leaves office rather than a Federal Records Act entity, which would make its records FOIAble now. This is a very notable, but unsurprising move that federal records experts have been worried about since the issuance of Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the United States Digital Service—an agency of federal tech workers that was formed under the Obama administration—to the United States DOGE Service. That executive order specifically states that the renamed entity “shall be established in the Executive Office of the President,” and that the USDS administrator (Elon Musk) “shall report to the White House Chief of Staff.” The Dispatch, for example, wrote a very informative article about this could limit public scrutiny of DOGE and the “clever” executive order that did this.

 

[TX-Beau]

Every online security breach that has occurred online COMBINED is nothing compared to what Elon Musk has done by accessing the U. S. Government computer systems. There is some awful plan afoot, even beyond the terrible damage already done, and I'm afraid no one will be able to figure it out until they spring it on us. As it stand right now, these goons have access to all our personal, financial, and legal information. We've seen what nefarious individuals can and will do with our information, and now Musk & Co. has access to ALL of it.

As for these six young men, they are committing the crime of the century when they should be figuring out who they are and getting their lives together. I see lengthy prison sentences in their futures-- IF we can ever wrest power back from the Trump, Musk, & Co. criminal cabal.

He chose young kids because they don't understand, and it's scarier than that - there is no plan, they are just fucking with the treasury because they can, nothing more.

 

[KaraBulut]

OK... we're starting to get closer to the real motivation. The USAID Inspector General was looking at Starlink contracts. So... first actions by Trump, get rid of Inspectors General and let Musk get rid of USAID.

Elon Musk's Enemy, USAID, Was Investigating Starlink's Contracts in Ukraine

The agency was in the midst of a probe into the billionaire's equipment at the time of Musk's assault.

gizmodo.com

Since coming into power, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has barraged USAID, the international aid agency that dispenses food and supplies to nations all over the world. It is likely that the agency will soon be shuttered and could be subsumed into the U.S. State Department. Now, new reporting shows USAID was actually investigating equipment from one of Musk’s companies at the time that he attacked the agency.

The Lever reported Tuesday that USAID’s inspector general was in the process of investigating its own public-private partnership between Musk’s Starlink and the Ukrainian government at the time that the billionaire’s DOGE crippled the agency. Publicly available information about that probe is still online. An announcement from last May reads: “The USAID Office of Inspector General, Inspections and Evaluations Division, is initiating an inspection of USAID’s oversight of Starlink satellite terminals provided to the Government of Ukraine. Our objectives are to determine how (1) the Government of Ukraine used the USAID-provided Starlink terminals, and (2) USAID monitored the Government of Ukraine’s use of USAID-provided Starlink terminals.”

Musk has called the agency “evil” and a “criminal organization,” though the fact that USAID was investigating the Starlink activities may suggest ulterior motivations for the billionaire’s vitriol. It’s unclear what the Starlink probe’s status is right now.

The original information was published on The Lever in an article entitled, "From Watergate to Elon-gate". (requires subscription to read)

There's a scene in the movie "Paper Moon" where the two girls are talking about "Miss Trixie".

Addie Loggins: How come she had to leave that job back there?
Imogene: Cause the boss-man tried to make her put out for his friends, and she don't believe in puttin' out for free!
Addie Loggins: She put out much?
Imogene: Just like a gum machine. You drop some in and she'll put some out.
Addie Loggins: How much she charge?
Imogene: Most she can get. But, she always asks for five dollars.

What we're seeing is the billionaires "dropping some in", in Elon's case between $200-$300 million dollars, and Trump is putting out by letting Musk destroy any threats to Musk's personal empire.

So, was Elon listening in to Ukrainian military exchanges on Starlink?

 

[rareboy]

Jesus. Worse than that. He took down Starlink to save the Rzzian Fleet at one point.

This guy is the epitome of evil...no remorse...no fealty...all he wants to do is see the world run by dictators who will fund his mission to Mars.

 

[rareboy]

 

[KaraBulut]

Man. Rolling Stone is on the Elonia beat. Yeah, so his cars killed a bunch of people. Tesla stock is up, even though his sales are down. He's been unleashed to rid the government (and his companies) of any oversight... on HIS companies.

White House Says Musk Will Decide His Own Conflicts of Interest. Uhhh …

The Trump administration says Elon Musk can self-determine when DOGE's work presents a conflict of interest because of his many companies.

www.rollingstone.com

Of course, it’s nearly impossible for Musk to direct any action by DOGE in Washington without potentially affecting one of his businesses. X, formerly Twitter, currently faces a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission that alleges he withheld information about the stake he was acquiring in the company ahead of his bid to purchase it. The Department of Labor, which could be next on the chopping block for DOGE, has probed and fined Tesla and SpaceX for unsafe working conditions through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Tesla is also under investigation by the Justice Department for possible securities and wire fraud related to its unsupported claims about fully autonomous vehicles.

SpaceX has additionally been fined by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration — and Musk personally pressured the last FAA administrator to resign, leaving the agency leaderless when a commercial passenger jet and U.S. Army helicopter collided in midair over the Potomac River in D.C. last week, killing 67 people. (Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said today that DOGE staff were going to “plug in to help upgrade our aviation system.” Duffy’s department includes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has its own ongoing investigation into Tesla’s self-driving features.) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Tesla over alleged racial harassment at a manufacturing plant, and the National Labor Relations Board has tangled with both Tesla and SpaceX, with the result that Musk’s companies and other corporate behemoths are waging a legal battle to see the agency declared unconstitutional and wiped off the map for good.

 

[KaraBulut]

Jesus. Worse than that. He took down Starlink to save the Rzzian Fleet at one point.

This guy is the epitome of evil...no remorse...no fealty...all he wants to do is see the world run by dictators who will fund his mission to Mars.

That was on a military contract.

This is why NASA and the military shouldn't outsource military intelligence to privately-held companies.

 

[KaraBulut]

Leaks are coming out that they plan on laying off almost all of the 10,000 USAID employees. They plan on keeping 290 employees. Meanwhile, there's about $300 million in grain shipments sitting on barges waiting to be sent out. It will likely rot. There's also HIV meds that aren't being distributed.

And they're cutting the epidemic surveillance programs just as there's a Ebola outbreak in Africa. Why haven't you heard about the Ebola outbreak? Because Trump silenced the CDC and took the US out of WHO.

If you don't know why this is a disaster, the former REPUBLICAN head of USAID during the Bush Administration explains it here:

 

[KaraBulut]

Boy genius' attempt to get the Federal workforce to resign has been put on hold by a Federal judge.

Ooops... they sent the retirement offer email to the judge! Federal Judges in the Article III branch of government have lifetime appointments and aren't eligible for retirement offers from the Article II branch.

Federal court puts deferred resignation program on hold

Federal employees had been told they'd have until today to decide whether to opt in to the program, which is now under a court-ordered pause.

federalnewsnetwork.com

The Trump administration’s controversial “deferred resignation” program is on hold for the time being after a federal judge in Massachusetts enjoined the Office of Personnel Management from “taking any further action to implement the so-called Fork Directive.”

 

[KaraBulut]

The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover

Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk’s companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.

www.wired.com

Akash Bobba, 21, a student at the University of California, Berkeley;
Edward Coristine, 19, a student at Northeastern University in Boston;
Ethan Shaotran, 22, who said in September he was a senior at Harvard.
Luke Farritor, 23, who attended the University of Nebraska without graduating;
Gautier Cole Killian, a 24-year-old who attended McGill University;
Gavin Kliger, a 25-year-old who attended Berkeley;

View attachment 2905765

Oh dear. Elonia is really really mad that his little TechBro team has been doxxed. So sad.

Musk Slammed for Claiming It's Unlawful to Publicly Identify DOGE Personnel | Common Dreams

Elon Musk, self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist," faces backlash for claiming that revealing DOGE workers' names is illegal.

www.commondreams.org

And one of them had to quit because the Wall Street Journal found his social media posts where he posted a lot of racist posts.

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/06/nx-s1-5289337/elon-musk-doge-treasury

Marko Elez, a 25-year-old software engineer, was working inside the Treasury Department to cut costs and root out fraud, as part of Musk's DOGE effort. Elez was one of two temporary appointees at Treasury connected to DOGE who have been granted access to a highly sensitive Treasury system that processes trillions of dollars in payments every year.

One down. Internet keep doing your thing.


And other of the barely pubescent DOGE boys used to work for a start-up that hired convicted hackers. It's the 19 year old who has Russian connections.

DOGE Teen Owns ‘Tesla.Sexy LLC’ and Worked at Startup That Has Hired Convicted Hackers

Experts question whether Edward Coristine, a DOGE staffer who has gone by “Big Balls” online, would pass the background check typically required for access to sensitive US government systems.

www.wired.com

Experts question whether Edward Coristine, a DOGE staffer who has gone by “Big Balls” online, would pass the background check typically required for access to sensitive US government systems.

 

[KaraBulut]

More....

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/06/climate/doge-energy-department-trump/index.html

Trump energy secretary allowed 23-year-old DOGE rep to access IT systems over objections from general counsel
A representative from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was granted access to the Energy Department’s IT system on Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, two people with knowledge of the situation told CNN.

Wright granted access to DOGE representative Luke Farritor — a 23-year-old former SpaceX intern — even over objections from members of the department’s general counsel and chief information offices, the people told CNN. The DOE chief information office is the department’s IT and cybersecurity office.

Members of the general counsel and chief information offices “said this is a bad idea” because Farritor hadn’t had a standard background investigation needed to access the department’s system, one of the people told CNN. “He’s not cleared to be in DOE, on our systems. None of those things have been done.”

 

[KaraBulut]

More...

The DOGE racist that got fired? He was one of the ones with write access into the Treasury databases.

The US Treasury Claimed DOGE Technologist Didn’t Have ‘Write Access’ When He Actually Did

Sources tell WIRED that the ability of DOGE’s Marko Elez to alter code controlling trillions in federal spending was rescinded days after US Treasury and White House officials said it didn’t exist.

www.wired.com

Sources tell WIRED that the ability of DOGE’s Marko Elez to alter code controlling trillions in federal spending was rescinded days after US Treasury and White House officials said it didn’t exist.

 

[Dominus]

Spent almost $300 mil to get a puppet elected. Without any official capacity, takes over the federal government computer system and the US treasury, which means he can now wield trillions of dollars.

I firmly believe he's got some kind of grand plan going on.

How is this not the hallmark of a supervillain?

 

[Araucaria]

The only thing I'll say is that I cannot discuss my thoughts publicly.

 

[Dargelos]

There is no reason to be alarmed. Elon Musk is the most honest and selfless man who ever lived, you may have complete trust in everything he does.
And, contrary to all the fake news in mainstream media such as Just Us Boys, the social platform X is a place where everyone is polite, Tesla cars never catch fire and SpaceX rockets are completely safe.

(usual fee Elon, thanks)

 

[rareboy]

Oh my. When you lose Susan Collins....

 

[rareboy]

Really Elonia?

 

[KaraBulut]

Oh my. When you lose Susan Collins....

Oh no! Look out! She's going to write a strongly worded letter.

 

[Alistair]

In the comments

let's get a guillotine, and a stage in front of the capital, and the rest I can't say

I think we should publicly execute Elon musk and televise it as a warning to the rest of the billionaires. I'll look at the camera straight down the middle as the blade slides down and say "We're coming for you" cut to black.

 

[KaraBulut]

They rehired the racist... because of course they did.

Musk rehires DOGE staffer who posted ‘I was racist before it was cool’

One of Elon Musk’s 25-year-old DOGE staffers resigned after his racist posts came to light. But Trump, JD Vance, and Musk all agreed he should be rehired.

www.msnbc.com