Source: DOGE seeking to access restricted IRS data
By: Zac Anderson
USA today
..... The Department of Government Efficiency is seeking direct access to Internal Revenue Service computer systems that have vast amounts of sensitive data, according to a source familiar with the developments.
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Among the systems that DOGE, the newly created executive branch agency led by billionaire Elon Musk, is trying to access is the IRS Integrated data Retrial System, according to media reports. It includes extensive information about taxpayers and allows IRS employees to research accounts, request returns, enter transactions and collection information, and generate "notices, collection documents and other outputs," according to the IRS.
..... Access to the system is highly protected to prevent unauthorized disclosures and changes. Employees who access the system "are authorities to access only those accounts required to accomplish their official duties," according to the IRS.
.....Musk's workers have fanned out across government agencies in an aggressive push to cut federal spending. They have embedded themselves in various agencies and are scrutinizing everything form U.S. Department of the Treasury payments to federal building leases. Nearly every federal worker has been offered buyouts, and mass terminations have begun.
..... DOGE sparked a furor when employees sought access to the Treasury's payment system, which distributes trillions in spending. A federal judge temporarily blocked DOGE workers form accessing the Treasury system amid a lawsuit brought by 19 state attorneys general.
..... "Waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long," said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields in response to questions about DOGE accessing the IRS systems. "It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it."
..... Top Musk aide Gavin Klige visited the IRS office in Washington, D.C., last week [02/13/2025] to review the agency's operations.
..... U.S. Senator Ron Wyden D-Oregon, responded to the visit with a post on X saying: "that means Musk's henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America, and if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason."
..... Contributing Reuters