Former U.S. District Attorney Joyce Vance has said there was a "legitimate fear" that access to the Treasury Department's payment system from tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could lead to personal information "leaking out."
Vance made the remark on an edition of the Stay Tuned with Preet podcast, hosted by Preet Bharara, another former district attorney, that was released on Tuesday.
Newsweek contacted the Treasury Department and Elon Musk, via his SpaceX and Tesla press offices, for comment on Wednesday outside of regular office hours by email.
Why It Matters
On February 8, New York Federal Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a temporary restraining order restricting DOGE from accessing the Treasury Department's payment system, which contains financial information about millions of Americans. He instructed DOGE to destroy any copies of records it had already obtained.
The move sparked a furious backlash from prominent Republicans, with Musk calling for Engelmayer to be impeached, whilst Utah Senator Mike Lee said the move has the "feel of a coup—not a military coup, but a judicial one."
President Donald Trump put the tech billionaire in charge of DOGE, a newly created government organization, with a mandate to crack down on what he deems wasteful government spending. Musk has previously suggested federal government spending could be cut by up to $2 trillion.
What To Know
Discussing Engelmayer's ruling on the podcast, Vance, the ex-U.S. attorney for the northern district of Alabama, said: "Once this information has leaked out of the Treasury Department system, it's really hard to reclaim it and we're seeing that now, not knowing whether Elon Musk's DOGE folks will be returning what they received. That's a real legitimate fear in this case. So is it a coup? It's hardly that, just an effort to maintain order."
On Saturday, Judge Engelmayer issued a preliminary judgment barring the Trump administration from giving access to Treasury Department payment data to political appointees, special government employees, or other persons outside the department. According to the White House, Musk is classed as a special government employee.
The decision was in response to a lawsuit brought by 19 Democratic attorney generals.
In response, Vice President J.D. Vance wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that's also illegal. Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power."
What People Are Saying
Speaking about the court ruling, Joyce Vance said: "This is about the furthest thing from a coup but isn't it classic given what we've watched the Trump administration do during the first three weeks it's been in office for them to reach out and accuse a federal judge of committing a coup for doing something as mild-mannered as issuing this kind of restraining order that you've mentioned that freezes the status quo in place for under a week so that the issues can be considered by a court."
She added: "This reaction is so overblown and out of proportion that it makes me far more nervous than I was previously about what's going on at the Treasury Department."
Referring to the possibility the Trump administration could ignore a legal judgment, Bharara said: "If there's a significant and serious threat of defiance of a court order at the appropriate level that is in fact a constitutional crisis."
What Happens Next
A show cause hearing over access to Treasury payment records will be held on Friday following Engelmayer's temporary restraining order. The case could potentially continue through the legal system to the Supreme Court.
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About the writer
James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more