Remember how a bunch of anti-Trump state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to block DOGE from accessing Treasury Department payment systems, and took their case to an Obama-appointed judge who, of course, granted a temporary injunction against DOGE?
According to the media, the ruling only temporarily blocks political appointees and special government employees—such as those at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data. But the reality could be far more sinister.
Some on X are saying that Judge Paul Engelmayer’s decision effectively bars all Trump administration political appointees, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, from accessing critical Treasury Department data.
New York Judge Paul Engelmayer just forbade all political appointees — including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — from accessing Dept. of Treasury data, all based on Blueanon conspiracy theories!!
Those theories couldn’t be challenged because the order was EX PARTE — meaning…
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 8, 2025
If true, this would be a blatant effort to obstruct and undermine the administration’s ability to govern. But is it?
Engelmayer’s ruling states that pending the hearing schedule for Feb. 13, the defendants, who are Donald Trump, in his official capacity as president of the United States, and Scott Bessent, in his official capacity as Treasury Secretary…
…are (i) restrained from granting access to any Treasury Department payment record, payment systems, or any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees, other than to civil servants with a need for access to perform their job duties within the Bureau of Fiscal Services who have passed all background checks and security clearances and taken all information security training called for in federal statutes and TreasuryDepartment regulations;
The order continues:
(ii) restrained from granting access to all political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department, to any Treasury Department payment record, payment systems, or any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees; and (iii) ordered to direct any person prohibited above from having access to such information, records and systems but who has had access to such information, records, and systems since January 20, 2025, to immediately destroy any and all copies of material downloaded from the Treasury Department’s records and systems, if any;
Does this mean that Secretary Bessent is actually barred from accessing Treasury Department data?
It actually kind of looks that way.
The order states that only career civil servants within the Bureau of Fiscal Services, who have passed background checks and security clearances and completed required training, are allowed access if their job requires it, while political appointees, special government employees, and staff from outside agencies are explicitly barred from accessing this data. Since the Treasury Secretary falls under the category of a political appointee, this steaming pile of garbage ruling means he is prohibited from viewing or handling his own department’s sensitive financial data. This unprecedented move essentially strips the Treasury secretary of one of his core responsibilities and undermines the authority of the executive branch to oversee its own financial operations.
LAWFARE: In an egregious and unconstitutional assault on executive authority, Judge Paul Engelmayer has unilaterally forbidden all of Trump’s political appointees—including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—from accessing Treasury Department data. This ruling, concocted without… pic.twitter.com/gauqMKURvY
— @amuse (@amuse) February 8, 2025
More on this as it develops…
