Interim US Attorney Issues Letter After Report
Alright, folks, buckle up because this one’s got everything—government shake-ups, tech billionaire drama, and a good old-fashioned internet firestorm. Let’s talk about Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and the absolutely wild controversy over some leaked employee names.
So, here’s the deal: Musk, never one to shy away from making big moves, has been busy slashing federal bureaucracy, shutting down USAID, and scrapping all sorts of government contracts. And while he’s been basking in the chaos of “efficiency,” there’s one thing he’s not too happy about—the fact that the names of his young, handpicked DOGE engineers just got leaked.
Wired doxed the auditors. https://t.co/OBYqPBG5vQ
— Grummz (@Grummz) February 3, 2025
Enter WIRED. The publication dropped a report naming six DOGE engineers, all in their teens or early twenties, and all without significant government experience. Not exactly a scandal in itself, right? But here’s where things take a turn. Shortly after, an anonymous X (formerly Twitter) account reposted the names, and Musk immediately jumped in, declaring: “You have committed a crime.” What crime, exactly? Unclear. But the account vanished shortly after, leaving everyone wondering—was it deleted by the user, or did Musk’s X empire intervene?
Now, cue the firestorm. Musk’s army of MAGA-aligned followers wasted no time rushing to his defense, decrying the leak as an act of “doxing.” One commenter framed it as outright intimidation, suggesting that exposing DOGE staffers was retaliation for cutting off billions in government funding to NGOs. Another pointed out that it’s always certain public officials who get outed—not the ones accused of corruption, but the ones actually trying to shake things up.
Here’s a handful of the many Reddit posts calling for violence and harassment against the boys from DOGE who were doxxed.
This is the point of activist journalist doxxing pieces: to target people for harassment.
Hope they remain safe and successful. pic.twitter.com/qiW6oPTnRb
— Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil) February 3, 2025
But here’s where things get even spicier—threats against the DOGE engineers started popping up on Reddit, prompting an official response from none other than Interim U.S. Attorney for D.C., Ed Martin. He publicly assured Musk that his office would prosecute anyone who threatened DOGE staff. Not only that, but the U.S. Attorney’s office even looped in the FBI, stating that “certain individuals” had likely violated the law by targeting Musk’s team.
Of course, not everyone was buying the “doxing” argument. Critics pointed out that it’s completely standard to report the names of government employees making major policy decisions. One observer flatly stated, “This isn’t some random grad student getting doxxed for saying weird stuff online. People have a right to know who’s making decisions about the federal budget.” Others took a sharper tone, calling Musk’s team “unelected oligarchs” and accusing them of gutting the government from the inside.
The libs are doxxing Musk’s DOGE team on Blue Sky.
Address, phone numbers, photos, everything!
They’re starting an intimidation campaign. pic.twitter.com/TSjhoO5trp
— Ranjit Singh (@AuthorSingh) February 3, 2025
And here’s the kicker: it turns out these young engineers aren’t just sitting in the background. One of them, Gavin Kliger, personally sent out the email announcing the closure of USAID headquarters. Yep, a twenty-something coder just shut down a major federal agency with the press of a button.
By the time Musk realized that containing the spread of his employees’ names was a lost cause, he shifted gears. Instead of doubling down on the “this is a crime” argument, he pivoted to bragging about his hires. “Time to confess: Media reports saying that @DOGE has some of the world’s best software engineers are in fact true,” he wrote on X.
🇺🇸FEDS CRACK DOWN ON THREATS TO ELON’S DOGE TEAM
Elon’s government efficiency squad is now at the center of a federal investigation—but not for wrongdoing.
DOGE employees have been doxxed, harassed, and even threatened with violence online, with posts calling for their deaths.… https://t.co/x50tzTZ0kh pic.twitter.com/Rle3SiSXYI
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 4, 2025