Lawrence O’Donnell Says Trump Just Gave Musk ‘The Domestic Equivalent of the Nuclear Codes’ | Video

“The Last Word” host Lawrence O’Donnell did not mince words when he spoke about President Donald Trump giving Elon Musk access to the United States Treasury Department’s payment system, saying Monday night, “We know that those things are not legal.”

Earlier this week, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficient (DOGE) was given the key to the payment system which includes access to the federal government’s financials as well as sensitive information like the Social Security numbers of taxpayers. 

O’Donnell urged viewers to think about the severity of the situation and reiterated several times how unprecedented it was. He also questioned what other highly sensitive areas unelected officials like Musk might be given access to.

“Who has the nuclear codes? Think about it.” the MSNBC host asked. “The only answer to that question, the only honest answer to that question tonight, for the first time in history, is we don’t know who has the nuclear codes. We don’t know who has what inside the Trump government. We don’t know who is doing what inside the Trump government, but we do know they are doing things that have never been done before and that are illegal. We know that those things are not legal.” 

The host went on to equate granting Musk access to the Treasury Department with giving him the “domestic equivalent” of the nuclear codes. Referring to the move as “biggest, most important data breach in the history of the world,” he reiterated that Musk, who is an unelected government official, has been given access to information that no political operative has been given before.

“He has gone where no Treasury Secretary has ever gone before, and that is to the innermost sanctum of the United States Treasury, where your money is collected and spent, where your name is collected, where your social security number is collected, where your baby’s social security number is collected on day one of your baby’s life. Most people working for the Treasury Department don’t even know where that is,” O’Donnell said.

“The Last Word” host also highlighted that it was odd Musk would even show an interest in getting into the country’s payment mechanisms. He cited that nothing the current administration has done “is potentially more dangerous than that” and that “nothing is more corrupt than that.”

Watch O’Donnell’s breakdown on MSNBC below:

O’Donnell called for the immediate impeachment of newly appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent was appointed Secretary of the Treasury of the United States on Jan. 28 after acting chief David Lebryk stepped down. Lebryk was against granting payment system access to Musk and his team. Musk had been seeking access since right after the November election.

O’Donnell used a powerful metaphor to explain the situation, equating Musk’s access to the richest customer of a local bank being able to “see and do whatever he wants.” The host also commented that Musk’s loyalties likely don’t lie with the U.S. at all since he has business dealings in China and his “wealth is completely dependent on the good graces of the government of China.”

“What are the chances that Elon Musk would let his friends in the Chinese government know a little bit more or a lot more about the inner workings of the United States Treasury,” O’Donnell asked with clear concern. “Does anyone think there is a zero chance of that happening? A zero chance. Does anyone think that Elon Musk, the most erratic public figure in the world not named Donald Trump can actually be trusted with anything? We have no idea what Elon Musk and the very young men with him are doing inside the treasury of the United States. No one knows. Donald Trump doesn’t even know. The one thing we do know is there’s nothing good that they can do.”

You can watch the full “The Last Word” segment above.

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