ELON MUSK and the UNITED STATES TREASURY

I've just been hearing on that excellent podcast The Meidas Touch of a law suit filed against the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the US Dept of the Treasury and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.

Scott Bessent, a major donor, fundraiser, and economic advisor for Trump's Presidential campaign was appointed Treasury Secretary by Trump following his election as President.

The law suit, filed on behalf of the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government  Employees and the Service Employees International Union alleges a breach, by Secretary Bessent of the 1974 Privacy Act.

Whilst I am conversant with the UK Data Protection Act I am not well versed in the US Privacy Act but what it appears to do is to  prohibit the disclosure of an individual's information held by the government to any person or agency without the  written consent of the individual concerned.

There are some exceptions to this prohibition but they mainly deal with the use of the person's data for census purposes, for law enforcement, Congressional investigations and such like.

The complaint contained within the law suit is that Elon Musk requested the personal and fiscal data held by the US Treasury and that his request was refused by the responsible employee on the grounds that it would have been a violation of the 1974 Act. The suit further alleges that Trump appointee and new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, dismissed that employee and authorised the release of the data to Elon Musk without first gaining the consent of the relevant persons.

These are, of course, just allegations not facts, and my reading of the 1974 Act may not be  accurate, but for such a law suit to be filed in the first place is a damning indictment of the Trump administration where Trump fundraisers and acolytes are placed in unelected positions of  almost limitless authority and are thus able to use that authority for personal gain or advantage.

There are many things wrong with the system of UK Government but the  Chancellor of the Exchequer, a post equivalent to the US Treasury Secretary, is appointed by the Prime Minister from amongst the elected Members of Parliament and is answerable to Parliament and ultimately to the electorate, as are all Cabinet and senior members of the Government.

Being a donator to the Prime Minister' election or dancing about on the campaign stages does not get you in charge of the country's finances, nor is a special government department created just for you to run.