Democratic senators signed a letter demanding that the Pentagon and national security law enforcement agencies investigate Elon Musk’s contacts with Russian officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Democratic senators signed a letter demanding that the Pentagon and national security law enforcement agencies investigate Elon Musk’s contacts with Russian officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The logic of the Democrats is that Musk has billions in Pentagon and US intelligence contracts as CEO of the aerospace company SpaceX, so he is a carrier of classified information.
«This relationship between a known adversary of the United States and Mr. Musk, the beneficiary of billions of dollars in U.S. government funding, raises serious questions about Mr. Musk’s credibility as a government contractor and permit holder», — the lawmakers said in a joint statement, as cited by Voice of America, citing Reuters.
Representative of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Sen. Jean Shagin, and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Jack Reid, appealed to the US attorney general and the Pentagon inspector general that Musk’s participation in the SpaceX programs should be examined against the background of recent reports about his conversations with Russian officials.
If this information is confirmed, they demand Musk’s suspension, exclusion of his company from certain contracts and deprivation of privileges.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had numerous phone conversations with Russian officials, including Putin and First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko.
This year, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Kiriyenko with leading an AI-based propaganda campaign on the Musk X social media platform and other sites to promote Russian interests and influence voters in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election, along with other Russian officials.
«Communications between Russian government officials and anyone with a security clearance could potentially compromise our security», — the lawmakers said in a letter.
Musk has publicly claimed that he has passed US security clearance, which gives him access to classified information at SpaceX.
After the US presidential election, Musk gained great influence in the circle of Donald Trump. In particular, Trump included Musk in his conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
As we previously reported, Tesla and Space X founder Elon Musk and millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy will head the new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to cut $2 trillion in US bureaucracy and unnecessary government spending.
