The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Jan. 22, 2026
New lawsuit filings allege a member of Elon Musk’s DOGE team may have created an external file containing personal Social Security information. That month, that employee and another were allegedly contacted by a “political advocacy group” attempting to find evidence of voter fraud.
The filing comes during discovery for a civil lawsuit by labor organizations which alleges DOGE was mining personal data and violated several federal privacy statutes.
The potential breach occurred in March 2025 and disclosed in October. DOJ now alleges a file was created with “personally identifiable information” for approximately 1,000 Americans. DOJ also said outside cloud servers were used, violating federal data security protocols.
The filing reads: “… SSA determined in its recent review that in March 2025, a political advocacy group contacted two members of SSA’s DOGE Team with a request to analyze state voter rolls that the advocacy group had acquired. The advocacy group’s stated aim was to find evidence of voter fraud and to overturn election results in certain States,” UNQUOTE.
While there’s no evidence the group received the data, the Social Security Administration IT staff hasn’t yet unlocked the file’s contents. There’s been no indication of a criminal investigation.
We’ve linked DOJ’s disclosure at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
AFL-CIO – (2025) AFL-CIO, Affiliate Unions, Economic Policy Institute File Emergency Lawsuit Against DOGE to Protect Privacy of Worker Data
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (via Court Listener) – (2025) American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. Social Security Administration
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (via Court Listener) – American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO v. Social Security Administration NOTICE OF CORRECTIONS TO THE RECORD
FedScoop – DOGE likely violated order on Social Security data, court filing shows
Groups Taking Action:
AFL-CIO, Economic Policy Institute, SEIU
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State
Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE!
Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org
Want ADM sent to your email? Sign up here!
Are you a radio station? Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX
#News #Democracy #DemocracyNews #SocialSecurityData #DOGE #ElonMusk #PrivacyAct #DonaldTrump #SocialSecurity #ElectionDeniers