‘Crimped view of the law’: Judge trashes Trump admin’s ‘Kafkaesque’ legal arguments in case over ‘blatantly lawless’ Privacy Act violations committed by DOGE and OPM

Elon Musk, on the left; embraced by Donald Trump, on the right.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, left, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump attend a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).

A Manhattan federal court on Thursday sharply rejected the Trump administration‘s efforts to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was responsible for a massive data breach at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

In the underlying litigation, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), other labor unions, and dozens of former federal employees allege OPM “gave unrestricted, wholesale access to OPM systems and records to DOGE” and its agents in violation of both the federal Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

On March 14, DOGE, its head Elon Musk, OPM, its embattled head Charles Ezell, and others filed a motion to dismiss the case.

In a 56-page opinion and order, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, a Bill Clinton appointee, handed down a partial victory — dismissing some of the claims while allowing the lawsuit to proceed on others.

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