The Department of Justice argued before an appellate court on Monday that the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to personal data is legal, the Washington Examiner reported.
DOJ attorney Jack Starcher argued that DOGE should have access to data of the Education and Treasury departments, as well as the Office of Personnel Management, according to the report.
“The implication of this case is that suddenly every single one of those [access] decisions is subject to some sort of need-to-know judicial supervision. That’s never happened before,” Starcher told the three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Examiner reported.
Starcher urged the court to overturn the ruling of U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, who in March prohibited the Education and Treasury departments, as well as the Office of Personnel Management, from revealing the personally identifiable data for around 2 million plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s access.
In a 68-page opinion, Boardman pointed to the Privacy Act of 1974, which she said was passed to prevent the federal government from disclosing Americans’ sensitive data without authorization. At the time, Congress’ concern was that “every detail of our personal lives” could be revealed by a single government official or agency, the judge wrote.
Starcher argued that at the Treasury Department alone, hundreds of non-DOGE employees had access to the same data, according to the report.
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