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Two new lawsuits fired directly at Musk, DOGE and Trump get to the heart of the problem [1]
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Date: 2025-02-15
Two new lawsuits were filed February 13 directly against Musk, DOGE and Trump. The organization Just Security (link below) has a great litigation tracker on their web site with all the legal filings related to Trump’s presidency since January 20. The two cases are “J. Doe 1-26 v. Elon Musk” and “New Mexico et al. v. Musk”.
https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/
These are fascinating, deadly serious and reassuring to read, all at the same time. They helped me understand and put in perspective all the chaos Musk and Trump have inflicted on all of us and specifically how damaging their actions are on federal employees and our constitution. It also explains in unambiguous terms how they are breaking the law.
The most horrifying details to me, surround how government employees and their families have been, and are still being, threatened, financially damaged, and abused by Musk and DOGE. It reads like a spy movie gone bad in some places. The following is one excerpt concerning J. Doe 9, that is particularly jarring from “J. Doe 1-26 v. Musk:”
“J. Doe 9 is a PSC offshore, in a high-risk area in the Middle East. On Monday, February 3, 2025, J. Doe 9 tried to login to their USAID email account but was locked out. J. Doe 9 received no warning or notification in advance from being shut out of USAID’s systems. Their supervisor and head of mission were not informed in advance of the cutoff. All of the contacts and the safety and security applications from J. Doe 9’s USAID work phone were removed remotely. The safety and security application is the mechanism by which federal government staff overseas in dangerous areas indicate that they are in a dangerous situation and access help. J. Doe 9 lives with their family in the foreign country in which they are stationed and is concerned for their safety. If there is an emergency, J. Doe 9 hopes they will be able to get out and be taken care of by USAID, but there is no guarantee as over the last few weeks, nothing done within USAID by Defendants has been according to protocol or implemented in a methodical, safe manner. J. Doe 9 has no idea what their status is each day.”
I can’t imagine how scary it is being overseas with your family, working for American interests in an unstable country and not knowing if your government will help you if you need it.
These lawsuits lay out in detail the sequence of events Musk and Trump have taken since before inauguration to undermine the separation of powers. They lay out actions taken in every agency DOGE has entered since January 20 to the filing date of February 13. They (especially J. Does 1-26 v Musk”) provide some of the incidents and evidence plaintiffs will rely on to support their arguments. This includes things Musk and Trump have stated, published on social media and written in correspondence. They show how these actions have hurt the plaintiffs, and why they are illegal.
The really important thing about these cases is they directly attack Musk, DOGE, and Trump in his capacity as President. If they succeed, and Musk and Trump follow the court orders associated with compliance, they would stop Musk from his plans to gut all government agencies for his own benefit. Many of the other cases (68 so far) filed against the Trump administration have focused on various other defendants, but this one fires directly at Musk, DOGE and Trump.
These complaints were filed by government employees, contractors and a group of States respectively. The two filings basically assert the same thing with a somewhat different approach. The thrust of the complaints is noted in “J. Doe 1-26 v. Elon Musk,” as follows:
“...Elon Musk’s constitutional authority to exercise significant government powers as the head of DOGE without Senate confirmation violates the Appointments Clause. The complaint alleges that Musk and the DOGE staff are exercising “significant authority” by controlling agency operations, making personnel decisions, and directing federal spending, all powers the plaintiffs claim can be wielded only by properly appointed officers of the United States. The lawsuit argues that Musk is functioning as a principal officer while evading the constitutional requirement for Senate confirmation.”
The claim also states:
“The plaintiffs also argue that DOGE’s structure violates separation of powers by creating a “shadow chain of command” that undermines Congress’s power to create agencies and their authorities through statute, confirm appointed officers, and conduct oversight.”
This is only a portion of the complaint, but it gets at the heart of the matter.
“J. Doe 1-26 v. Musk” is asking that:
“The suit asks the court to declare Musk and DOGE to be acting unlawfully, enjoin Musk and DOGE from exercising government authority unless appointed by proper process, and set aside their actions taken to date.”
The other suite, “New Mexico et al. v Musk,” asks for:
“The suit asks the court to declare Musk and DOGE to be acting unlawfully, impose a temporary restraining order barring Musk and DOGE from exercising government authority (including a specific list of official actions) while awaiting preliminary and permanent injunctions to the same effect, and set aside their actions taken to date.”
These complaints, although somewhat long and forbidding (wading through the legalize) to read, are really helpful in understanding what is going on and how it has to be stopped. I recommend reading at least one of them. The best one is “J. Doe 1-26 v. Musk” as it has the most detail.
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