Yves right here. Trump continues to undergo authorized setbacks. The query is the diploma to which he can maintain defying the courts, as he has appeared decided to do with deportations. With that equipment, Trump seems to be to have strong management over the army, Federal Marshals, and the FBI, so he seems capable of proceed to thump his nostril at orders. It’s not clear that DOGE has but achieved the identical stage of management throughout the various departments and businesses it has focused.
Be aware that judges can impose civil contempt penalties. That remarkably can embrace incarceration, however per the Federal Marshals level above, a choose wouldn’t succeed, as he might usually, in ordering the gens d’armes in court docket to haul away the contempt perp. Nonetheless, one interview of a choose indicated that the penalties are a most of $.1000 a day, as with felony contempt, however may be set to double on daily basis the defiance continues. From a Politico interview with former Federal Decide Shira Scheindlin:
Assuming that the choose — Decide Boasberg or every other choose for that matter — ultimately concludes that the federal government intentionally violated a court docket order, what are the choose’s choices?
I can inform you that each former choose I do know has been requested this query by any individual within the media, together with me. I feel the one actual possibility is civil contempt….
You may additionally sanction the individual, and that’s all the time fascinating, since you might have fines that double on daily basis, so it may well get critical quick. I don’t understand how good at math you might be, however a $1,000 high-quality doubling on daily basis can shortly add as much as actual cash — not for the USA authorities, however for a person. If any individual was individually sanctioned, that provides up…
By Jessica Corbett. Initially printed at Frequent Goals
Defenders of the Social Safety Administration celebrated a federal choose’s Thursday order blocking U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity from entry to thousands and thousands of People’ SSA information.
“The DOGE crew is actually engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, searching for a fraud epidemic, based mostly on little greater than suspicion. It has launched a seek for the proverbial needle within the haystack, with none concrete information that the needle is definitely within the haystack,” wrote Maryland-based U.S. District Decide Ellen Hollander, who issued a brief restraining order.
In her 137-page opinion, Hollander defined that “to facilitate the expedition, SSA offered members of the SSA DOGE crew with unbridled entry to the non-public and personal knowledge of thousands and thousands of People, together with however not restricted to Social Safety numbers, medical information, psychological well being information, hospitalization information, drivers’ license numbers, financial institution and bank card data, tax data, revenue historical past, work historical past, start and marriage certificates, and residential and work addresses.”
“But, defendants, with so-called specialists on the DOGE crew, by no means recognized or articulated even a single motive for which the DOGE crew wants limitless entry to SSA’s complete report techniques, thereby exposing private, confidential, delicate, and personal data that thousands and thousands of People entrusted to their authorities,” famous the appointee of former President Barack Obama.
“Certainly, the federal government has not even tried to elucidate why a extra tailor-made, measured, titrated strategy is just not appropriate to the duty. As an alternative, the federal government merely repeats its incantation of a have to modernize the system and uncover fraud. Its technique of doing so is tantamount to hitting a fly with a sledgehammer,” asserted the choose, concluding that “plaintiffs are more likely to succeed on their declare that such motion is bigoted and capricious,” and violates the Privateness Act and the Administrative Process Act.
Thanks to @AFSCME, @ActiveRetirees, and @AFTunion for standing as much as Musk in court docket to guard People’ privateness.
Immediately is an enormous step ahead, however we are able to’t take our eye off the ball. Elon Musk should come earlier than Congress to inform us what he plans to do. He isn’t above the legislation! https://t.co/z5qbDWTUNk
— Rep. John Larson (@RepJohnLarson) March 20, 2025
The plaintiffs on this case are three unions—the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Staff (AFSCME), Alliance for Retired People, and the American Federation of Academics (AFT)—represented by Democracy Ahead. Along with DOGE, they sued the SSA and its performing commissioner, Leland Dudek, over the “knowledge seize.”
“This can be a main win for working individuals and retirees throughout the nation,” AFSCME president Lee Saunders mentioned of the Thursday order. “The court docket noticed that Elon Musk and his unqualified lackeys current a grave hazard to Social Safety and have illegally accessed the info of thousands and thousands of People. This resolution is not going to solely power them to delete any knowledge they’ve presently saved, however it is going to additionally block them from additional sharing, accessing, or disclosing our Social Safety data.”
AFT president Randi Weingarten additionally welcomed the event, saying that “nobody filed for Social Safety believing their private belongings could be appropriated by a billionaire who assaults Social Safety as a ‘Ponzi scheme.’ People should be allowed to retire with dignity and beauty with out having to fret about Elon Musk jeopardizing their financial savings.”
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Ahead—which is concerned with a number of court docket battles difficult the Trump administration’s sweeping assault on the federal authorities—pledged Thursday that “our crew will proceed its authorized efforts to make sure that this knowledge stays protected and that these accountable are held accountable.”
Judges who’ve dominated in opposition to Trump and Musk’s agenda have confronted threats of violence and impeachment.
WATCH: Social Safety Works President Nancy Altman discusses Elon Musk’s Social Safety cuts with NBC Information’ Liz Kreutz @LizKreutzNews @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/f6yPfUvrb1
— Social Safety Works (@SSWorks) March 20, 2025
Whereas the Musk-led entity’s try and intestine the federal authorities has sparked numerous authorized fights, “this ruling is the primary time a federal court docket has explicitly mandated that Musk and DOGE delete unlawfully obtained knowledge,” in keeping with Democracy Ahead.
Critics of the administration’s try and “sabotage” the SSA—which incorporates chopping cellphone providers, shedding employees, shutting down places of work, and stealing seniors’ earned advantages—warn that Trump and Musk are pushing for privatization.