Edward Coristine
Perhaps the most famous of the DOGE wreckers, Edward “Big Balls” Coristine achieved early attention for joining DOGE at the young age of 19. Previously, he had been a camp counselor and a summer intern at Neuralink, who grew up in wealth and joined up with hacking groups online, before eagerly jumping on to the DOGE bandwagon.
However, he has also accrued a large number of hits on his wrecking spree across the federal government, starting at the GSA on Day One and then detailing to OPM and a large number of other agencies within a short amount of time; for instance, he appears to have been DOGE’s vanguard within the Department of Homeland Security. Most recently, he has been linked to a team developing an online application for a $5 Million “Gold Card” Visa that has been promoted by Trump as a new revenue stream for the US.
Positions
| Position | Notes |
|---|---|
|
c.1/20- |
appointed (volunteer) «Start date and agency inferred from later reporting» Wired |
|
c.1/28- |
detail «wasn’t named due to young age; mentioned as reporting to Amanda Scales, so might be detail?» Wired |
|
2/03- |
likely detailed «Only source is a single tweet. More info needed. Assuming detail from GSA.» X.com |
|
c.2/04- |
likely detailed «Date unverified, but assuming predates sighting at FEMA» Wash. Post |
|
2/05- |
internal xfer Wash. Post |
|
2/10- |
detail to Senior Advisor, Bureau of Diplomatic Technology Wash. Post |
|
2/10- |
likely detailed as Senior Advisor, Office of the CIO Wash. Post |
|
2/19- |
internal xfer Senior Advisor Wired |
|
2/20- |
detail docs: MOU |
|
3/05- |
likely detailed «Date verified in court document, assuming detail from GSA» court doc |
|
3/05- |
internal xfer «Granted access to CMS systems on same day as detail to HHS» |
|
5/31- |
converted to permanent position Senior Advisor (GS-15, $167,603 - $195,200) «Salary range for GS-15 in DC» Wired |
| internal xfer «NYT links him to TSA, but no other info» NYT | |
| internal xfer NYT |
Systems
| System | Details |
|---|---|
|
HIGLAS
2/05-
|
Healthcare Integrated General Ledger Accounting System
read access granted by CIO A single, integrated dual-entry accounting system that centralizes accounting for CMS programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. (CMS) court doc |
|
FEMA-Go
2/07-
|
FEMA Grants Outcomes
read access A system for managing grant program for communities affected by disasters (FEMA) Wash. Post |
|
Office365
2/20-
|
Microsoft Office 365
admin access Microsoft Office 365 is used for agency email and knowledge management systems. (CISA) NBC News |
|
CALM
3/05-
|
CMS Acquisition Lifecycle Management System
read access granted by CIO System for tracking CMS acquisitions, contracts, milestones and audits. (CMS) court doc |
|
IDR
3/11-
|
Integrated Data Repository
read access granted by CIO A data warehouse that receives all Medicare claims after they have been approved for payment (CMS) court doc |
Events
| Agency | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
|
1/28
|
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|
1/31
|
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|
2/03
|
Sighting:
Email to SBA staff announces that Edward Coristine and Donald Park were granted access to all systems including HR, contract, and payment systems.
|
|
|
2/05
|
||
|
2/10
|
Sighting:
Edward Coristine and Luke Farritor are posted to the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Technology
|
|
|
2/10
|
||
|
2/12
|
Directory:
In a FOIA request, Democracy Forward names DOGE staff known to be at OPM at that time in their list of officials to FOIA communications for
|
|
|
2/19
|
Access:
Edward Coristine and Kyle Schutt are reportedly given elevated access to CISA systems, including documents and staff emails.
|
|
|
3/XX
|
Disruption:
Kyle Schutt and Edward Coristine reportedly have pressured staff at DHS to use Grok, a chatbot from Elon Musk's xAI, despite the fact it had not been approved for use in the agency. A DHS spokesperson denied the allegations.
|
|
|
3/04
|
Directory:
Wired reports that some DOGE staff (Kyle Schutt, Nate Cavanaugh) are being paid as full-time GSA employees, but other staff are listed as volunteers for that agency
|
|
|
3/05
|
||
|
3/05
|
Access:
Edward Coristine and Zach Terrell are granted read access to the Integrated Data Repository (IDR), a data warehouse of all Medicare claims
|
|
|
3/05
|
Directory:
The Intercept receives a list of 30 DOGE staffers working within the Executive Office of the President (EOP), including 4 lawyers previously not listed
|
|
|
3/13
|
Directory:
As later reported in a declaration in AFL-CIO et al. vs. Department of Labor, HHS employee Mark Samburg finds DOGE staff at the agency listed in an online directory as Executive Engineers (and Rachel Riley as a Senior Advisor)
|
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|
3/20
|
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|
3/28
|
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|
3/29
|
||
|
3/29
|
Legal:
In a legal filing, the DOJ identifies 4 DOGE staffers - Edward Coristine, Marko Elez, Luke Farritor and Amy Gleason - as present at CMS. It omits the names of several other staffers with access to the CALM system.
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4/08
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4/11
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4/16
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5/23
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