A New Kind of Coup: Trump and Musk are Updating the Autocratic Playbook:
The assault on our democracy seen through the lens of authoritarian practice
https://lucid.substack.com/p/a-new-kind-of-coup-trump-and-musk
"We are living through a new kind of coup in which #ElonMusk, the richest man in the world, has taken over the payment and other administration systems that allow the American #government to function, and has locked out federal employees from computer systems."
Elon Musk says President Donald Trump has ‘agreed’ USAID should be shut down
https://apnews.com/article/doge-musk-trump-classified-information-usaid-security-35101dee28a766e0d9705e0d47958611
"the administration placed two top security chiefs at #USAID on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Musk’s government-inspection teams...
Musk’s DOGE crew lacked high enough security clearance to access that information"
#ElonMusk #Coup #Musk #Trump #Politics #Government #US #USA #News #USNews
Musk associates given unfettered access to private data of government employees:
The Musk-connected political hires include two recent high school graduates
https://www.muskwatch.com/p/musk-associates-given-unfettered
"OPM staffers received an email from the agency’s new leadership instructing them to give Musk’s team “access [to] the system as an admin user" and "code read and write permissions."
...which means they can make updates to anything that they want"
#Tech #ElonMusk #Coup #Musk #Trump #Politics #Government #US #News
Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach
https://dcmediagroup.us/2025/02/02/federal-workers-block-doors-of-admin-building-over-elon-musk-data-breach/
"There is no way to determine what they [ #Musk & minions] are doing w/the systems or its vast trove of databases...
A massive intrusion of this scale taken against a system of secure #government computer networks is unprecedented"
#Tech #Coup #ElonMusk #Trump #Crime #Politics #USPol #US #USA #News #USNews
The War at Home:
Elon Musk and The Security State's Uvalde Moment:
“We have a Constitutional crisis, period," says NSA whistleblower Tom Drake, who can't help but notice how the three-letter agencies that went after him aren't stopping this
https://www.forever-wars.com/elon-musk-and-the-security-states-uvalde-moment/
"The danger to the #Constitution is running amok inside govt buildings. But the #Security State stands outside, deterred, & will present any number of rationalizations about how this isn't their job."
Why Write About the Illegality of What Trump and Musk are Doing?
https://buttondown.com/sbagen/archive/why-write-about-the-illegality-of-what-trump-and/
"I know the #law won’t “save us” from #Trump. We’re going to have to save ourselves. But the law is one among many tools that will prove important in that struggle. And I think it’s important that those of us who work in the law continue to explain Trump’s violations of the law."
#ElonMusk #Coup #Musk #DonaldTrump #Crime #GOP #Politics #US #USA
The Media Is Missing the Story: Elon Musk Is Staging a Coup:
As the world's richest man seizes control of government agencies, mainstream outlets are treating it like standard political news
https://www.readtpa.com/p/the-media-is-missing-the-story-elon
" #ElonMusk — a man no one elected to any office — has gained unprecedented access to... payment systems, fired federal workers, shuttered entire agencies, & installed his loyalists throughout the govt. If this were happening in any other country, we'd call it what it is: a #coup"
"Hitler actually had some good ideas": Musk's covert coup is guided by internet trolls:
Musk's illegal government takeover is scary on its own — but the people he's bringing along make it even worse
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/04/hitler-actually-had-some-good-ideas-musks-covert-coup-is-guided-by-internet/
"Musk seems to believe he can ignore the legal authority of #Congress to control federal spending, & instead control all decisions on how to spend taxpayer money... functionally make #Musk a #dictator using the elected official, #Trump, as his figurehead."
What the Musk is Happening?
It’s a catastrophe, but what kind of catastrophe?
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/what-the-musk-is-happening
"What if the #Musk people — Muskovites? — try to muck with systems they don’t understand, believing that they’re super smart & can master everything with the help of a little #AI? It’s not hard to imagine the whole federal payments system — including, by the way, servicing of #federal debt — crashing.
So much damage — to #US credibility, to the #Constitution and... #government"
"unelected billionaire #ElonMusk, whose investment of $290 million in #Trump & other #Republican candidates in the 2024 election... bought him freedom to run the #government...
The replacement of our constitutional system of government with the whims of an unelected private citizen is a #coup. The US president has no authority to cut programs created & funded by #Congress, & a private citizen... has even less standing to try anything so radical."
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-3-2025
A 25-Year-Old With Elon Musk Ties Has Direct Access to the Federal Payment System
The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department. It’s also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, & more.
https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-associate-bfs-federal-payment-system/
"Elez’s privileges include the ability not just to read but to write code on two of the most sensitive systems in the #US #government"
Elon Musk Suggests Getting Rid Of All Regulations In Midnight Call:
"If it's not possible now, it'll never be possible," Musk said of his proposal to simply ignore all federal regulation as a baseline.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elon-musk-regulations-default-gone_n_67a12742e4b09a02376043c7
“Regulations, basically, should be default gone,” Musk said. “Not default there, default gone. And if it turns out that we missed the mark on a regulation, we can always add it back in.”
#ElonMusk #Coup #Musk #Trump #GOP #Government #Politics #US #USA #News #USNews
Musk’s Takeover Of The Government’s Computer Systems Needs To Be Understood As A Cyberattack, Or Worse
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/03/musks-takeover-of-the-governments-computer-systems-needs-to-be-understood-as-a-cyberattack-or-worse/
"These systems #Musk and his “team” have accessed are among the most sensitive and critical to the running of the #USA...
Yet here is Musk, a man who regularly chats with Vladimir #Putin, with access to it all, if not also outright control."
#ElonMusk #Coup #Tech #Technology #CyberSecurity #Security #NationalSecurity #Treasury #OPM #Russia #China #Trump #News #US
