Washington:
Prime Senate Democrats – Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed and New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen are calling for an investigation into Elon Musk’s alleged ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his high officers.
They despatched a letter to Lawyer Basic Merrick Garland and Defence Division Inspector Basic Robert Storch elevating “severe questions relating to Mr Musk’s reliability as a authorities contractor and a [security] clearance holder”.
The lawmakers need the Pentagon and Justice Division to probe whether or not Musk’s relationships with a US adversary compromise nationwide safety, particularly given his main authorities contracts.
Musk’s reported “a number of, high-level conversations” with Putin since 2022 have raised eyebrows, regardless of the Kremlin’s denial, in line with The Wall Avenue Journal.
The billionaire’s response to the accusations was fiery, vowing to “nuke” these behind the claims on his X platform, “going to seek out out who’s making these accusations and nuke them”.
Reed and Shaheen query Musk’s reliability as a authorities contractor and safety clearance holder, citing his alleged communications with Putin’s deputy chief of employees, Sergei Kiriyenko.
The senators spotlight Russia’s area ambitions as a direct risk to US nationwide safety. They’re involved that Musk, together with his top-secret degree clearance, would not report his overseas authorities contacts, not like others with related clearances. SpaceX’s deep involvement in US protection and intelligence infrastructure provides to the issues.
Musk’s ties to the US authorities lengthen past contracts; he backed Trump’s 2024 election bid and took part in diplomatic efforts, together with calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and assembly Argentinian President Javier Milei in Trump’s Florida dwelling.
Nevertheless, his latest go to to the Iranian UN ambassador’s residence in New York has sparked controversy, with Iran’s overseas minister denying the assembly came about.
The investigation request underscores rising scrutiny of Musk’s overseas connections and their implications for US nationwide safety.