Donald Trump is using the full weight of the presidency to protect Elon Musk from testifying in an explosive federal case about the dismantling of USAID, a foreign aid agency created by Congress.

According to the court filing that was reviewed by Cryptopolitan, Elon illegally acted like a top government official when he allegedly directed USAID’s shutdown while serving as Trump’s adviser.

The Department of Justice asked a Maryland federal judge to block all efforts to depose Elon, along with two former USAID executives, Peter Marocco and Jeremy Lewin, who are also named in the lawsuit.

DOJ lawyers told the court that dragging Elon into a deposition would breach long-standing legal protections for senior executive officials and violate presidential separation-of-powers.

The plaintiffs, made up of former government workers and contractors, say Elon and others unlawfully wiped out USAID using “mass firings, cancelled grants and dismantling of agencies.”

The Biden-era Justice Department had opposed this suit, but now it’s Trump’s White House fighting to keep Elon off the stand.

Justice Department argues Elon didn’t make policy

Elon stepped down from his adviser role in the spring. But while he was there, he became the face of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Elon was heavily tied to Trump’s 2024 campaign too.

Even after he left the role, the DOJ continued defending him in cases linked to DOGE, claiming Elon didn’t have formal policy-making power.

Lawyers say he only advised Trump, and that doesn’t make him liable for constitutional violations. But the plaintiffs argue otherwise.

They told the court Elon had “exercised unconstitutional power” and acted like a Senate-confirmed official, without ever being confirmed. They’re suing over what they call a clear breach of the Constitution, accusing Elon and others of breaking the legal separation between Congress and the Executive Branch by shutting down an agency Congress created.

Their lawyers spent the last few months gathering testimony and requesting files. So far, the judge has allowed it all to go forward. In August, the court rejected DOJ’s attempt to have the entire lawsuit thrown out.

The DOJ’s new filing says the plaintiffs haven’t used all other options first, like written questions or lower-ranking witnesses.

Lawyers argue that compelling Elon to testify would interfere with Trump’s constitutional duties, saying it would “necessarily intrude on White House activities and the president’s performance of constitutional duties.”

Elon’s posts used as evidence in deposition fight

One of the strongest pieces of evidence the plaintiffs cited is Elon’s own social media post from February, where he wrote: “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”

The judge said that message was enough to support claims that Elon took credit for USAID’s collapse, and also prove that he was more than just an adviser to Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump’s administration is also blocking another key DOGE figure from being forced to testify.

In a separate case from May, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in to stop a lower court from compelling Amy Gleason, DOGE’s administrator, to give testimony. That case is about whether DOGE must comply with public records laws. It hasn’t been resolved yet, and it’s still moving through the courts.

Elon’s exact role inside DOGE remains the central issue. The workers who sued say he directed decisions that ripped apart foreign aid programs, which they claim violated federal law. But the DOJ says Elon’s job was limited to informal advice, not execution of policy.

The court now has to decide whether Elon’s post, his White House presence, and his public actions are enough to pierce legal protections usually granted to people that close to the president.

Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free.