Two Democratic senators urged the Pentagon and federal law enforcement Friday to investigate Elon Musk’s alleged communications with Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, citing national security concerns.
Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, addressed their concerns to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Pentagon’s inspector general. The request detailed in a letter points out Musk’s role as CEO of SpaceX, a contractor overseeing billions in U.S. defense and intelligence projects.
They called for an inquiry into whether Musk’s dealings with Russian officials merit debarment—a process that would bar him from certain government contracts.
“These relationships between a well-known U.S. adversary and Mr. Musk, a beneficiary of billions of dollars in U.S. government funding, pose serious questions regarding Mr. Musk’s reliability as a government contractor and a clearance holder,” the senators wrote. “We urgently call upon the U.S. government to open an investigation up to and including a determination by the senior debarment official of the Department of Defense, consistent with section 4654 of title 10 United States Code, to determine whether this behavior should force a review of Mr. Musk’s continued involvement in SpaceX’s varying contracts with the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community.”
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Reports of Musk’s interactions with Russian officials date back to 2022, when political scientist Ian Bremmer alleged Musk had discussed Russia‘s nuclear red lines with Putin amid the Ukraine conflict, according to Reuters. Musk denied the claim and stated he had not spoken to Putin about Ukraine but acknowledged a conversation about space 18 months prior.
However, a Wall Street Journal report in October reignited the controversy, alleging Musk has maintained contact with high-ranking Russian officials, including Putin and his deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko. Shaheen and Reed expressed alarm over Musk’s alleged conversations with Kiriyenko, whom the U.S. Justice Department charged earlier this year for leading a propaganda campaign using artificial intelligence to advance Russian interests on Musk’s social platform, X, previously known as Twitter.
The senators argued that any interaction between individuals with U.S. security clearances and foreign adversaries could pose significant risks. As the operator of the Starlink satellite network, critical to Ukraine’s battlefield communications, SpaceX is a cornerstone of U.S. defense operations.
The company also holds a $1.8 billion contract to develop a spy satellite network and supports numerous NASA and Pentagon missions, Reuters reported. Musk reportedly claimed he holds a U.S. security clearance that granted him access to classified information tied to these projects, The Atlantic stated.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Elon Musk on “Joe Rogan Experience,” Screenshot/YouTube/”Joe Rogan Experience”)
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