Looks like DOGE will finally have to give sworn testimony under oath. U.S. District Judge John Bates (a federal judge) has agreed to allow lawyers involved in a lawsuit representing unions and liberal groups to question four officials - one from DOGE's White House office, one from the Labor Department, one from the Department of Health and Human Services and one from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The lawsuit seeks to prevent DOGE from accessing sensitive government databases that house sensitive data of employees and citizens. Basically a treasure trove of data that someone could easily sell to the highest bidder, if they had access to it.
Lawyers from the Department of Justice tried to prevent this questioning, especially under oath, but the lawyers prevailed. The testimony will not be lengthy - it is limited to eight hours total, and I am confident that the 4 witnesses will be coached to say "I do not know" or "I plead the 5th" the entire time.
The 4 witnesses will be selected from the Trump White House, so don't expect much. It will either be low level "True Believer MAGA" staffers who Trump and Musk are willing to throw under the bus or highly coached slicksters who will smirk, deflect and lie.
The Judge did specify that they needed to be knowledgeable about the data security and access issues within the agencies at the center of the suit, but considering the fact that most of Musk's team is recent high school graduates who identify as incels, I do not expect much.
Regardless of how disappointing these witnesses will surely be, this is a first step in getting someone, ANYONE, on the record while under oath. Let's keep it up.
