KEY POINTS
- The IDRS houses ATIN and ITIN information – both documents with sensitive information
- An admin official said the employee in question was acting 'legally' and had the necessary security clearances
- WH spokesperson Fields said 'direct access' to government systems was necessary to 'fix' abuse and fraud
An employee with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who is affiliated with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is expected to seek access to a confidential Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS) of the IRS, which is home to highly sensitive taxpayer information, a new report revealed.
The employee started working at the agency after President Donald Trump's inauguration and was carrying out the "DOGE mission," NBC News reported, citing an unnamed administration official.
The official initially said the DOGE-linked IRS staffer was already granted access to the system, but later clarified that the employee had yet to be given access. The official added that the employee in question was acting "legally and with the appropriate security clearances."
What is the IDRS?
According to the IRS website, the system allows for "instantaneous visual access to certain taxpayer accounts" and can be used for various purposes, including "researching account information and requesting returns."
The system can also accomplish other tasks for IRS employees, such as the automatic generation of notices, document collection, and the likes.
It can even be used for "adjustments" and "entity changes," as per the IRS.
Among the notable information found in the IDRS database are:
- Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN) – contains W-7A application data on pending adoptions;
- Centralized Authorization File (CAF) Research – holds information on the "type of authorization that taxpayers have given representatives for various modules within their accounts";
- Dishonored Check File (DCF) – contains records of dishonored checks;
- IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN);
- Taxpayer Information File (TIF) – contains sensitive tax account information for taxpayers, including individual master files of taxpayers and businesses;
The IRS noted that users of the IDRS are "authorized to access only those accounts required to accomplish their official duties."
WH Spokesperson Insists 'Direct Access' Necessary
When asked about the DOGE-linked IRS employee's possible access to the highly sensitive database, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said, "It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix" what he described as long-time "waste, fraud, and abuse" in the federal government.
"DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard-earned tax dollars on," Fields added.
Pushback Over Musk's DOGE Access to Sensitive Data
Musk has faced extreme scrutiny in recent weeks as his DOGE moved toward "exposing" what he said was corruption in the U.S. federal system. In the process of the exposé, questions emerged regarding the DOGE's potential hold over the public's information.
"An unelected, unaccountable billionaire now has seemingly unlimited powers over Americans' private data and over Americans' taxpayer dollars," said Texas Rep. Greg Casar earlier this month.
Protests are also starting to break out in parts of the country as DOGE critics call for a stop to the unofficial government unit's aggressive bid to cut federal spending.
