The Trump administration hopes to save billionaire Elon Musk from testifying in a lawsuit against DOGE, Gizmodo reports, according to UNN.
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“The Trump administration is trying to protect its former ‘DOGE czar,’ Elon Musk, from having to testify in a court case related to his work on a ‘government efficiency’ initiative,” the publication states.
As noted, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been sued many times over the past year, but one of the longest-running lawsuits concerns its “attack” on USAID, an international aid agency that was virtually shut down earlier this year.
In February, several former USAID officials and contractors filed a lawsuit against Musk and DOGE, accusing them of “unconstitutional seizure of power” and describing the dismantling of USAID, created by Congress, as a violation of the separation of powers. The lawsuit alleged that Musk exercised an unconstitutional level of “power within the U.S. government that is reserved for Senate-confirmed officials,” Bloomberg notes.
Musk served as a “special government employee” for the first five months of this year, and “the government argued that he was not responsible for core policy matters at DOGE, despite public statements by Musk (and Trump) suggesting otherwise,” the publication notes.
Earlier this year, the government tried to get the case dismissed, but in August, a U.S. Maryland state judge ruled that it could proceed. “Now, at least, the government hopes to keep Elon from testifying,” the publication states.
Bloomberg initially noted that the government is now seeking a protective order to prevent Musk from testifying. In a motion filed on November 21, the government requested a “protective order prohibiting the testimony of Elon Musk,” as well as two other former administration officials, Peter Marocco and Jeremy Levin. The government argues that extraordinary circumstances are required before such testimony becomes necessary.
The government also argued that Musk’s testimony “would necessarily intrude on the operations of the White House and the President’s performance of constitutional duties, raising significant separation of powers concerns.” Additionally, the government stated that the plaintiffs must “exhaust alternatives” before resorting to testimony.
Gizmodo reached out to the Trump administration. The publication also reached out to Musk through his xAI startup, but the company responded with an automated message that simply read: “Old media lies.”