By Miriam Raftery 

Photo: Elon Musk and Donald Trump in Nov. 2024, via Speaker Mike Johnson

February 4, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Donald Trump authorized Elon Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to take total control of the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment system, locking out federal employees.  DOGE’s young tech workers gained access to the private data of nearly every American including taxpayers, Social Security and Medicare recipients, government employees, student and SBA loan recipients and federal contractors in direct violation of laws intended to protect sensitive data.  The information accessed by Musk’s team includes Social Security numbers, bank accounts, addresses and other data that if in the wrong hands, could lead to identity theft and looting of accounts.

By Leon Thompson

Photo: Elouise Cobell speaking at U.S. Dept. of Interior Office of Special Trustee for American Indians (creative commons image from amin2010 wikispaces)

May 22, 2016 (Indian Country) -  The US Department of the Interior announced that it will expand and extend implementation of the land buy-back program mandated by the Cobell v Salazar Settlement, the largest class action lawsuit against the United States government in history.