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olgalautman.substack.com
Why has Musk gained access to our data?
Olga Lautman
5–7 minutes


Elon Musk KENNY HOLSTON/THE NEW YORK TIMES/11276477p/AFP via Getty Images

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I don’t want to be an alarmist and was not planning on writing anything tonight, but this is insanely dangerous. Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire with no oversight, has gained access to the federal government’s payment system. Even worse, this is happening through the unofficial, unauthorized, fake DOGE, and a group of Musk’s handpicked associates. How did these people even get security clearances? DOGE is not a real government agency, yet it has been given the power to monitor and potentially block federal payments, including Social Security checks, Medicare reimbursements, federal employee salaries, and tax refunds.

Even more concerning, the federal payment system contains sensitive personal information about all of us—millions of Americans who receive these payments. Why does Musk have access to our sensitive information? And, what is he planning to do with it?

A top Treasury official, David A. Lebryk, retired yesterday after clashing with surrogates of Elon Musk over access to the U.S. government’s sensitive payment systems. His departure followed an administrative leave amid pressures to allow Musk to gain control over America’s “checkbook,” which handles $6 trillion in payments. Then, last night, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted representatives of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to the federal payment system.

Meanwhile, Musk’s aides at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management locked career federal workers out of key systems containing their sensitive personal data, restricting access to databases critical for managing federal employee information. Simultaneously, Musk’s allies—including former employees from his companies, and college students—have infiltrated the General Services Administration (GSA), using White House security credentials to access federal systems, deploy AI software, and reshape the agency to fit Musk’s agenda.

Also, Musk ally Thomas Shedd has taken control of Technology Transformation Services (TTS), a key government IT agency leading to chaos, secrecy, and surveillance tactics. Employees report being forced into unannounced meetings with unidentified individuals, some of whom appear to be college students with disturbingly high clearance levels.

TTS manages sensitive government data across multiple agencies, and this Musk-led coup—backed by Trump’s unauthorized, fake DOGE—poses grave national security risks. Employees fear it is part of a broader ideological purge and surveillance operation that could weaponize federal technology against government workers and the public.

This has nothing to do with government efficiency—it’s a power grab. Musk and his unelected cronies are methodically seizing control of federal systems, sidelining career professionals, and positioning themselves to dictate the flow of taxpayer money. With control over Treasury payments, federal personnel records, government technology infrastructure, and now critical IT systems, they have an unprecedented ability to manipulate public resources, weaponize financial systems, and operate outside the checks and balances that protect national security.

And while Musk gains access to every American’s sensitive financial and personal information, he is actively propping up Germany’s far-right AfD, a party with deep ties to neo-Nazis.

Musk has repeatedly used his platform to amplify and normalize extremist rhetoric, positioning himself as an enabler of authoritarian movements in Europe while simultaneously consolidating power over U.S. government institutions. His influence isn’t just limited to tech and finance—he is directly contributing to the rise of far-right nationalism, destabilizing democracies abroad while embedding himself in the highest levels of the U.S. government, gutting U.S. agencies, and purging civil servants.

Please, everyone, call your Senators, Representatives, and local officials immediately. Demand answers: Who authorized Musk and his aides to take control of federal payment systems and our sensitive data? What safeguards are in place to prevent abuse of this access? How will our financial and personal information be used? Who is holding DOGE, OPM, GSA, and TTS accountable for these breaches of protocol?

Flood their phone lines. Send emails. This is a blatant and dangerous power play—one we must resist with everything we have.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave Mr. Musk’s representatives at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency a powerful tool to monitor and potentially limit government spending. Via NYT

A recent high school graduate and former Neuralink intern has joined meetings to review lines of code and other work history of career public servants, sparking chaos at a major government agency. Via Wired

Musk aides restrict access to federal employee data systems

Musk's team works around the clock, installs sofa beds at OPM

Concerns include cybersecurity and lack of oversight

Via Reuters

I have been documenting Trump and his cronies’ rapid moves to consolidate power, undermine democracy, and dismantle civil rights and freedoms on The Trump Tyranny Tracker. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do.


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