Top senators call for federal investigation into Musk’s alleged contact with Putin

Two top Democrats in the Senate have called for a federal investigation into Elon Musk’s reported contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top aides.

The senators have called on the Pentagon and Justice Department to determine whether the talks, which the Kremlin has rejected, should force a review of the federal government’s contracts with Musk’s company, SpaceX.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the world’s richest person has had “multiple high-level talks” with Putin since 2022, while maintaining contact with other top Russian officials.

Musk wrote on Friday on his X platform that he “will find out who is making these accusations and nuke them”.

In another post, he branded the two Democrats — Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a senior Democrat on the Armed Services and Foreign Policy committees — as “puppets” and “knuckleheads.” . “.

The pair of Democrats sent one letter on Friday to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch, raising “serious questions regarding Mr. Musk’s reliability as a government contractor and (security) clearance holder.”

Donald Trump’s allies currently enjoy billions of dollars in US defense and intelligence contracts and also claim to have a top secret security clearance.

“Russia’s space ambitions pose a direct threat to US national security,” Reed and Shaheen write, pointing to reports earlier this year that the US adversary has deployed a space weapon that may be capable of attacking other satellites at low- orbit around the earth.

The senators note that, unlike others with high-level security clearances, Musk does not report his contacts with foreign officials.

They add that the billionaire’s communications with Putin’s deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko, come amid a Justice Department finding that Kiriyenko and other top officials were involved in an effort to view Kremlin propaganda on social media, including on the Musk-owned X (formerly ). Twitter) platform.

“For these reasons, we urge an immediate investigation to determine whether Mr. Musk’s relationship with several senior Russian officials warrants an investigation and a determination by the senior Department of Defense official whether SpaceX should exclude Mr. Musk from involvement in the current or future U.S. government. contracts,” Reed and Shaheen write.

Musk, who backed Trump’s successful 2024 re-election bid with campaign appearances and millions of dollars in donations, was tapped by the president-elect earlier this week to lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency.”

But he has also participated in the future president’s diplomatic efforts.

Musk joined phone calls over the past week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

The BBC’s American partner, CBS News, reported on Friday that he also recently visited Iran’s UN ambassador’s residence in New York. Washington does not have diplomatic relations with Tehran.