US senators demand to check Musk’s contacts with Russia
16 November 2024 05:19
In the United States, Democratic senators, Foreign Relations Committee member Jeanne Shaheen and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed have called on the Pentagon to investigate businessman Elon Musk’s ties to Russia. This was reported by Reuters with reference to the text of the senators’ letter, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
In particular, the Democrats called for an investigation into alleged telephone conversations that Musk allegedly had with officials in Russia, including the head of the Kremlin.
“Elon Musk, who holds a high government position and has access to classified information, may be maintaining ties with an enemy of the United States despite overseeing billions of dollars in Pentagon and intelligence contracts,” the senators said in a statement.
The letter was sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch. The authors believe that the businessman’s contacts with the Russian government may affect contracts with the US government signed by Musk’s SpaceX company.
Reports of Musk’s contacts with Russian officials surfaced in 2022 when political scientist Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group consulting firm, said that Musk said he had spoken with Putin about the war in Ukraine and the red line for Russia’s use of nuclear weapons. Musk denied Bremmer’s claim and said he had spoken to Putin about space only 18 months ago.
Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had numerous conversations with Russian officials, including Putin and his first deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko, citing unnamed US, European and Russian officials.
In the letter, Shaheen and Reid said they were “deeply concerned” that Musk allegedly had conversations with Kiriyenko. This year, the U.S. Department of Justice charged him, along with other Russian officials, with organizing an artificial intelligence-based propaganda campaign on Musk’s social media platform, Musk X, and other sites to promote Russian interests and influence voters ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
As reported by Kommersant Ukrayinsky, Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, by supporting Donald Trump’s election campaign, can significantly benefit from his victory. In his victory speech, Trump specifically mentioned Musk, emphasizing that the new administration would be favorable to him because the country needs to “protect geniuses.”
He added in a post on X: “A government efficiency department is the only way to extend life beyond Earth.”
