Elon Musk appears with Trump and tries to claim Doge' team is transparent (February 2025)
www.theguardian.com

... Elon Musk claimed in the Oval Office on Tuesday that his so-called "department of government efficiency" (Doge) was providing maximum transparency as it bulldozed its way through the federal government, remarks contradicted by the reality of how he has operated in deep secrecy.

The appearance from Musk was the first time he had taken questions from the news media since his arrival in Washington, and he used his time standing next to Donald Trump at the Resolute Desk to defend the aggressive cost-cutting measures the Doge team has pursued.
two men and a child behind a desk as reporters face them with cameras

Musk confidently asserted, without offering any evidence, that some officials at the now gutted USAid had been taking "kickbacks" and that "quite a few people" in the government had "managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth while they are in that position".

The most startling claim centered on his insistence that the Doge team had been transparent about its activities as it had swept through roughly 20 agencies, seeking the removal of career officials who stood in his way and accessing sensitive data systems.

"We are actually trying to be as transparent as possible," Musk said, referring to what Doge has posted on X. "So all of our actions are maximally transparent. I don't know of a case where an organization has been more transparent than the Doge organization." ...