In which I parrot Craig C again

I was going to write a bit of a screed today about how Elon has completely upended critical parts of the Federal government in defiance of law and without any authority to do so. I hadn't quite landed on how to articulate it, though, by the time I read today's edition of Craig Calcaterra's "Cup of Coffee." And, once more, Craig said what I would have said, only better. So I'll simply share his words with a "yes, 100% that" concurrence.

Since Friday, people working for Elon Musk, who do not appear to be government employees of any kind, have taken over the United States Treasury's and the Office of Personnel Management's payment mechanisms, have downloaded the most sensitive personal information of millions of Americans imaginable to private servers, and have locked actual government employees out.

Musk and his people have also taken over the General Services Administration, which is the agency responsible for government contracting. Which means he has taken possession of all the financial and personal information of everyone who does business with the federal government, including the details of government contracts, bids, company filings, and other information.

Musk and his people also have taken over the U.S. Agency for International Development, specifically taking control of its security systems, personnel files, and intelligence reports much of which is classified information and which pertains to thousands upon thousands of U.S. government workers operating overseas, many in classified roles. When Musk's people arrived at USAID headquarters its security officials, quite properly, attempted to bar access. Musk's people threatened to call in U.S. Marshalls and take the information at gunpoint, after which they forced their way in, took possession of the information they sought, and placed USAID officials on leave.

Which is to say, Elon Musk has, unilaterally and without any legal authority whatsoever:

• Unlawfully taken control of the United States Treasury and intends to unilaterally cut off payments to disfavored populations both here and abroad in defiance of Congress, the courts, and the American people;
• Unlawfully taken possession of personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans and thousands of U.S. government workers and has unlawfully downloaded that data to his private servers; and
• Unlawfully obtained the financial and personal information of everyone who does business with the federal government, including classified information.

It is impossible to overstate the levels of illegality we're witnessing. Off the top of my head this would appear constitute theft of U.S. government property, theft of public funds, the violation of taxpayer confidentiality, the unlawful releasing of names, sources, and methods of U.S. overseas activity, and I'm sure multiple other offenses. Just as it is impossible to overstate the illegality, it is likewise impossible to overstate the seriousness of this situation. If any other person or actor had done even a fraction of what Elon Musk and those at his command have done over the past three days they would find themselves in federal prison for decades if not for life.

That being said, I honestly don't know what can possibly be done here given Trump's dictatorial control over government right now, the certainty that he would prevent the DOJ, FBI, or any other authority from investigating any of this, and the certainty that he would issue preemptive pardons for Musk and his team should anyone even think about snooping around. But a coup has occurred. A coup perpetrated by a drug-addled Nazi sympathizer and a small team of extremely young men who likely have no idea how many laws they have broken, even if that's no defense to their crimes. The nightmare will not end unless and until Elon Musk and those he has ordered to infiltrate the United States government are in shackles.

Every Democratic Member of Congress, starting with ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, Elizabeth Warren, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden, and the ranking members of committees dealing with national security and government contracting should be holding emergency news conferences, raising the alarm, and demanding access to federal facilities, with TV cameras in tow, so it can be documented what they find or, more likely, how they are unlawfully turned away. As for the rest of us: this is the sort of thing for which a general strike is the only possible response, not that I expect such a thing could be effectively pulled off in this country.

Honestly, though, I have no idea what happens next. We are in completely uncharted waters. Nothing like this has ever happened in this history of the United States. But something has to happen in response.