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The Elon Musk Government Ministry of Elternities is looking to access the very sensitive taxpayers’ data system from the Internal Revenue Service, a source familiar with the move.
The IRS, which contains private data on millions of American income declarations, social security numbers and banking information, is the last agency to be targeted by DOGE because it seeks to considerably reduce the size of the hand- of federal work and to enrage what it characterizes as being waste, fraud and abuse within the government.
Gavin Kliger, a software engineer working under Doge, should have access to the “imminent” system, said the source. It will be based at IRS for at least 120 days but had not yet been approved at 9 p.m. HE on Sunday.
“Waste, fraud and abuse has been deeply anchored in our broken system for too long. It takes direct access to the system to identify and repair it, “said Deputy Press Secretary of the White House, Harrison Fields, in CNN in a statement. “Doge will continue to highlight the fraud they discover, because the American people deserves to know what their government spent their hard taxes.”
Kliger will be a main advisor to the Acting IRS Commissioner, although the nature of his work at the agency is still not clear. Kliger has the appropriate security right and should sign a demanding agreement that it maintains confidentiality with information on the income declaration and destroy these documents by leaving IRS, added the source.
The agreement is part of a broader understanding protocol of the understanding considered by the IRS which would give the officials of DOGE widespread access to the agency system, including the integrated data recovery system, or IDR , which allows IRS employees to access specific accounts of taxpayers and their bank banking information.
The IDR contains some of the most sensitive financial information on American taxpayers. According to the IRS, the system is designed to prevent taxpayers from putting themselves in bad hands – and unauthorized IRS employees to make changes to taxpayers. Authorized employees cannot access the sensitive data of taxpayers only to accomplish a specific and official task.
“The taxpayer must be protected from unauthorized disclosure of information concerning his account and unauthorized changes,” said IRS in his employee manual. “The IDRS User employee must be protected from other staff members using their identification to access or make changes to an account.”
The data in which IDR allows authorized employees to access social security numbers, bank account information, addresses, income declarations and other personal identification data. It also includes private information on taxpayers. For example, the IDRS includes information on adoptions awaiting taxpayers, so that parents can claim dependence exemptions and child care credits.
The protocols are quite strict, preventing IRS employees from accessing their own files or files belonging to spouses, friends, parents, colleagues or anyone with whom they have personal relationships or trade relations. IRS also prohibits employees from accessing information on tax accounts to satisfy personal curiosities.
The punishment for improper use of IDRs includes dismissal, fine or prison sentence. An IRS entrepreneur who disclosed information on taxpayers was sentenced in 2024 to five years in prison.
Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts expressed serious concerns concerning Monday the potential use of taxpayers’ private data in a letter to IRS. The senators asked the IRS Commissioner to provide details on any plans to allow DOGE members to access internal IRS systems.
“The IRS must immediately disclose the Senatorial Committee for the Finance of the Examination of Potential Access to the IRS systems and data granted to the members of the DOGE team so that the Committee can approach all the efforts of the Doge To access taxpayers’ files to the IRS, which can constitute criminal violations of federal laws on privacy, ”says the letter.
Senators explained that these prohibitions have historically been undergone against people appointed politicians in previous administrations, which has access to private tax files of millions of Americans.
“As you know, income declarations and information on yields are subject to solid legal protections in privacy,” said the letter, adding: “allow Doge officials who sweep to these systems may be in violation of these laws. ”
This story has been updated with an additional reaction.
Alejandra Jaramillo de CNN contributed to this report.
