Laurel Zuckerman's Paris Weblog

Fourteen states challenge Musk's unlimited power

Fourteen states have filed a lawsuit which begins with the words:

"There is no greater threat to democracy than the accumulation of state power in the hands of a single, unelected individual."

It explains the law and details illegal and unconstitutional actions by Elon Musk.

You might want to read the court filing for the details. 

https://www.azag.gov/sites/default/files/2025-02/NM%20v.%20Elon%20Musk.pdf

Who to read during a coup?

Where to find reliable information about Elon Musk's sustained assault against Americans and their government?

The Big Lie is the method of dictators. Personality cults and massive disinformation campaigns are something Hitler, Stalin, Trump and Musk have in common. How to get accurate information at a moment when government websites with decades of data are being disappeared and so much of our prestige press is cowering?

Here are publications that have been outstanding in their fearless, in-depth reporting on the Trump-Musk coup.

Number 1: WIRED

This is a tech led coup so it's not illogical that the best source of information is a tech publication. The journalists and the editorial staff have really stepped up. A subscription to WIRED is about the best investment you can make in getting accurate and timely information today. 

 "The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover"
Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk’s companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-government-young-engineers/

Archive: https://archive.ph/YAmss#selection-553.0-557.132

DOGE’s Race to the Bottom

Elon Musk’s takeover of US government agencies has happened at remarkable speeds. That’s the point.

https://www.wired.com/story/doge-elon-musk-fast-cuts/

 

Number 2: PROPUBLICA

Propublica has been doing excellent reporting and investigations for a long time. A lot of  crucial background to the players we are now seeing is already in Propublica (like this piece on the family funding so much of the effort to make Republicans believe the lie that Trump won the 2020 elections). Propublica is a great publication and deserves every support

 

See also:

🔗 Elon Musk’s Financial Disclosure Will Not Be Made Public: (The New York Times)

🔗 AI Slop of Musk and Trump on TikTok Racks Up 700 Million Views:  (404 Media)

🔗 How Elon Musk and His DOGE Goons Are Following the Private Equity Playbook: Anna Merlan smartly views DOGE through a private equity lens. (Mother Jones)

“Largest data breach in US history”: Three more lawsuits try to stop DOGE

DOGE and Musk face three more lawsuits over "brazen ransacking" of private data.

JON BRODKIN – 12 FEB 2025 22:31 ARSTECHNICA

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/02/largest-data-breach-in-us-history-three-more-lawsuits-try-to-stop-doge/

.

See also Youtube

Brian Tyler Cohen: The Legal Breakdown

https://www.youtube.com/@briantylercohen

 

 

Why is Elon Musk rooting around in your most sensitive personal and payments information?

 

 

"The system is responsible for paying Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for federal personnel, payments to contractors and grant recipients, and tax refunds, among tens of thousands of other functions."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/01/elon-musk-treasury-payments-system/

 

 

 

"The system run by the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service controls the disbursements of around $6 trillion in federal funds to American households, including Social Security and Medicare benefits, tax refunds, and payments to U.S. federal employees and contractors, according to a letter written by Wydenand sent to Bessent a day earlier. Access to the payments system was historically limited to a few staff because it contains personal information about millions of Americans who receive payments from the federal government, per the Times."

https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/01/senator-warns-of-national-security-risks-after-elon-musks-doge-granted-full-access-to-sensitive-treasury-systems/

 

Read more about this unprecedented and illegal action by an unelected private individual at

Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-aides-lock-government-workers-out-computer-systems-us-agency-sources-say-2025-01-31/

Washington Post mentions Tom Krause, "a Silicon Valley executive working in concert with Musk".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/01/elon-musk-treasury-payments-system/

Who to follow for news about what’s happening in America

‪I’d like to share this Bluesky thread from Henry Farrell, who teaches courses on technology, coercion and democracy at Johns Hopkins.

Farrell suggested good sources of information, saying:

 

I don't get the sense that U.S. journalists have a good sense of who to talk to when basic government functions are being ripped out. Gutting the administrative state is not a standard beat. A short thread with some starter suggestions for who to read/talk to. Please - people add more in replies!

February 1, 2025 at 1:25 AM

 

 

‪Henry Farrell‬ ‪@himself.bsky.social‬

 

2. On @bsky.app - the obvious people who cover this are @donmoyn.bsky.social and @pamherd.bsky.social. For lawyerly understanding, @sbagen.bsky.social. More generally, @lawfare.bsky.social Executive Branch vertical www.lawfaremedia.org/topics/execu... and @qjurecic.bsky.social

Executive Branch www.lawfaremedia.org

 

3. On both policy processes and consequences for people's lives, @chloethurston.bsky.social @povertyscholar.bsky.social and @epopppp.bsky.social Off social media, Dan Carpenter at Harvard, @jacobhacker.bsky.social for starters.

 

4. On intelligent comparison to what has happened in other countries - @tompepinsky.com on authoritarianism and @annagbusse.bsky.social and @rdanielkelemen.bsky.social for soft autocracy. These are all or nearly all academics. I'm sure I'm missing people - scholars or otherwise. Add more!

 

On Census - now down - @zephoria.bsky.social and Dan Bouk both know the ins and outs. Ken Prewitt is long retired but (I think) still active.

On Census add @hansilowang.bsky.social of NPR:

How did we get here? Where are we going?

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer

 

America is heading for dark times. How did we get here? What can we do? In this new series of posts, we will look at some of the excellent books that tried to inform and warn us. And, as they are published, we will feature the books that offer ways forward. Number 1 on our list, Jane Mayer's Dark Money. 

 

 

Like two scorpions in a bottle: Trump and DeSantis

Trump nicknamed DeSantis "de Sanctimonious" because of the Florida GOP governor's over-the-top God ad and claimed he rigged DeSantis' first election. 

In other words, a normal day in MAGAland.

from The Guardian

In his typical mafioso way, Trump said, “I don’t know if he is running. I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly. I really believe he could hurt himself badly.”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/10/trump-paved-ron-desantiss-way-now-apprentice-has-turned-on-master

How Donald Trump attempted to overthrow American democracy: Testimony from the Hearings Day 4

 

 

Links:

Day 1 Hearings Jan 6 Committee https://youtu.be/UiL2inz487U

Day 2 Hearings Jan 6 Committee https://youtu.be/DtM9Itv6tj8?t=1195

Day 3 Hearings Jan 6 Committee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnf4w6rocm8

Day 4 Hearings Jan 6 Committee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5hgdGLdh8E&t=1023s