“I and any other government employee – and any other hacker for that matter – would go to jail if caught for this activity, yet Musk and company are doing it in the open.”

I thought the following note (see below) from a smart, dedicated, hard-working federal employee was worth sharing. The big question at this point, as The Nation puts it, is “Who Will Stop Elon Musk’s Coup.” Also, see:

• What might an opposition party be doing right now? (“The Democrats are leaving a lot of tools on the table”)
• The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s power grab: a coup veiled by chaos
• What the Musk is Happening? (“It’s a catastrophe, but what kind of catastrophe?”)
• The ‘Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly’ of the United States Government (“Elon Musk’s bureaucratic coup is under way.”)
• Elon Musk Is President (“The world’s richest man has declared war on the federal government, and his influence appears unchecked.”)
• A Coup Is In Progress In America

Etc. And now the note…

“Sorry for the short answer last night.  I felt like it wasn’t enough as an answer but wasn’t sure how to answer, because the things that Trump and Musk are doing are against the law.  I take required training every year on national security, on ethics and on protection of classified, sensitive and personal information, and those trainings repeatedly state that I and every other civil servant (and politically appointed official) could receive civil and criminal penalties if convicted of these violations. That includes fines, jail, losing my job and benefits. 

Almost everything they are doing through OPM (and Treasury, now, too) is violating other laws as well, and they don’t have authority to do some of the things affecting the civil service without getting the authority and the funding from Congress.  The reason that they can do all of these things is that the Republicans in Congress are LETTING them do it. Republicans (who are in charge as they are a majority in both Houses) are approving these unqualified people to run agencies, and Trump is picking people based on their loyalty to him and willlingness to do his bidding. 

Meanwhile, Musk – who hasn’t even been appointed and confirmed to run a thing and who hasn’t receive any security clearances and who has many conflicts of interest and red flags for security risks – is hacking into secure government systems with a team of his own young people (also with no experience, no relevant experience, no clearance, no ‘need to know’ – other than for nefarious reasons).  I and any other government employee – and any other hacker for that matter – would go to jail if caught for this activity, yet Musk and company are doing it in the open.  

I listened to my Congressman Don Beyer and some personal experts on a call last night.  A lot of these things were brought up. Beyer encouraged people to write and call his office with concerns and information on what they see happening. He and other Democrats will keep pressuring their Republican colleagues, for one thing.  (For example Dems could try negotiating during the budget process, especially when it comes to raising the debt ceiling, which requires more than a majority, maybe there’s a chance of swaying a couple of Republicans. At least there’s that.)

There are also lawsuits happening.  So people aren’t giving up.  But it is scary.”