On Mon, Feb 10, 2025 at 10:03:56AM -0500, Gunnar Larson wrote: > https://wallstreetonparade.com/2025/02/after-tech-geeks-built-a-back-door-to-loot-billions-from-ftx-republicans-refuse-to-investigate-what-elon-musks-tech-squad-did-inside-the-u-s-treasurys-payment-system/ > > > By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: February 10, 2025 ~ > > Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla > Elon Musk > > It was just two years ago that bold headlines were swirling around the > world that young techies with degrees from top American universities had > engineered one of the most brazen frauds in U.S. history, including > building a backdoor to a computer system that allowed billions of dollars > to be looted from customer accounts at crypto exchange FTX. > > Despite this recent reminder that anyone with access to large sums of other > people???s money requires constant and competent policing, President Donald > Trump has allowed the insanely greedy Elon Musk to send young techies into > the U.S. Treasury Department and access its $6 trillion payment systems. > The tech news website, Wired, has provided in-depth coverage of insider > allegations that one of those Musk techies, Marko Elez, was given > administrative access, meaning that he could write and alter code in the > Treasury payment system. > > Last Tuesday, Wired reported the following: > > ???Despite reporting that suggests that Musk???s so-called Department of > Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force has access to these Treasury > systems on a ???read-only??? level, sources say Elez???has many > administrator-level privileges. Typically, those admin privileges could > give someone the power to log in to servers through secure shell access, > navigate the entire file system, change user permissions, and delete or > modify critical files. That could allow someone to bypass the security > measures of, and potentially cause irreversible changes to, the very > systems they have access to. > > ??? ???You could do anything with these privileges,??? says one source with > knowledge of the system, who adds that they cannot conceive of a reason > that anyone would need them for purposes of simply hunting down fraudulent > payments or analyzing disbursement flow.??? > > Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo confirmed Wired???s reporting, adding > alarming new details. Marshall wrote: ???I???m told that Elez and possibly > other DOGE operatives received full admin-level access on Friday, January > 31st. The claim of ???read only??? access was either false from the start or > later fell through. The DOGE team, which appears to be mainly or only Elez > for the purposes of this project, has already made extensive changes to the > code base for the payment system.??? > > Despite this reporting, which also aired on major television news programs, > Republicans on the House Oversight Committee quashed a demand from > Democrats to subpoena Musk to testify before the Committee concerning the > activities of his tech geek squad operating inside federal agencies. > > Congressional Republicans, who are the majority party at present in both > the House and Senate, appear to be so fearful of earning the wrath of > Donald Trump that they are seemingly willing to let the U.S. Treasury > payment system be potentially hacked rather than ask probing questions in a > timely fashion. > > This head in the sand attitude among Republican ???lawmakers??? forced 19 > state > Attorneys General to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the > Southern District of New York on Friday, asserting that people associated > with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) were allowed ???to access > Americans??? personal and private information, including bank account and > social security numbers.??? The lawsuit sought to ???halt improper access to > this sensitive information while litigation proceeds.??? > > California Attorney General Rob Bonta released this statement regarding the > lawsuit: > > ???President Trump???s and the Treasury Department???s actions to allow DOGE > access to Americans??? private information is chilling and unconstitutional > ??? > and Americans are paying attention. Millions entrust the federal government > to carry out vital operations that people rely on every day. In doing so, > we also entrust them with our sensitive and personal information. This > week???s action is a breach of that trust and a gross and blatant power grab. > The President does not hold the power to give Americans??? bank account and > social security numbers to anyone he???d like. I am proud to stand with > attorneys general around the country to demand the immediate halt to this > violation of both trust and law.??? > > In addition to the California Attorney General, AGs from the following > states signed on as plaintiffs: New York, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, > Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, > Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and > Wisconsin. > > You can read the full complaint here. > > On Saturday, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction > against further access by DOGE to Treasury payment systems and set a court > hearing on the matter for this Friday. > > The Judge???s action sent Elon Musk into a rage on X (Twitter), where he > called for the Judge to be impeached. > > Trump has regularly attempted to create the narrative that Elon Musk is a > genius that the American people are fortunate to have working to eliminate > fraud and waste in federal agencies under this Trump concoction called DOGE. > > The unfortunate reality is that Musk is a serial grifter with a history of > tawdry and illegal acts. Musk previously battled in court to obtain a $56 > billion pay package at Tesla. (That???s billion not million.) Tesla is a > publicly-traded company and Musk is its CEO ??? meaning that under law he > owes an oath of loyalty to the company and its shareholders. > Notwithstanding that law, Musk simultaneously serves as CEO of rocket and > satellite company, SpaceX, and controls numerous other companies. > > In January and February of last year, Musk was profiled in two shocking > Wall Street Journal articles regarding his use of illegal drugs. The Wall > Street Journal???s January 6, 2024 (paywall) article carried this assessment > of Musk???s drug use: > > ???The world???s wealthiest person has used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and > psychedelic mushrooms, often at private parties around the world, where > attendees sign nondisclosure agreements or give up their phones to enter, > according to people who have witnessed his drug use and others with > knowledge of it. Musk has previously smoked marijuana in public and has > said he has a prescription for the psychedelic-like ketamine.??? > > In October, five Wall Street Journal reporters dropped the bombshell news > that Musk ???has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir > Putin since late 2022.??? In February of 2022, the U.S. placed Putin on a > sanction list in response to his ???unjustified, unprovoked, and premeditated > invasion of Ukraine???.??? > > Musk has also been the target of multiple cases brought by the Securities > and Exchange Commission which allege that he violated federal securities > laws at Tesla and Twitter (now called X). See here and here. > > Despite this profile of an out-of-control, obscenely rich bully attempting > to seize power, he and his techies continue to move into more federal > agencies. > > FacebookTwitterWhatsAppLinkedInEmail
-- Dave Emery N1PRE/AE, [email protected] DIE Consulting, Weston, Mass 02493 "An empty zombie mind with a forlorn barely readable weatherbeaten 'For Rent' sign still vainly flapping outside on the weed encrusted pole - in celebration of what could have been, but wasn't and is not to be now either."
