The New York Times and many other outlets have reported that Elon Musk was going to be briefed at the Pentagon today, which would include discussions on China.
Since Musk holds so many contracts with foreign countries, this is considered a huge conflict of interest. The intel given to Musk is just unconscionable at this point.
After The New York Times reported about the planned briefing, the White House said Musk had an 80-minute meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the secretary’s office. The Pentagon and the president denied that China was the secret briefing subject.
Former vice president nominee Tim Walz joined Rachel Maddow and responded to other queries.
MADDOW: For some reason, they have decided to show Elon Musk this level of detail about a potential war with China while he operates the largest Tesla—largest car factory, I believe, in China and has immense financial interests in that country and contacts with that country’s government that he has not disclosed to the U.S. as part of maintaining his security clearance.
I just got to get your reaction to that, sir.
WALZ: Well, speechless would be the word.
I don’t know how to convey—I don’t possess the language ability to convey how far out of the norm this is, like nothing that—people listening, like, look, this is—those of us who served, the background checks from the FBI, just to receive clearance as an artillery enlisted soldier was extensive to get that background.
And then the level of information that you can get, or as a member of Congress, to be able to have access to this type of information, these are closely guarded secrets, because our national and our global defense depends upon them.
And once again, we have this—I don’t know, the character, the world’s richest man with the world’s most fragile ego.
And I don’t understand where the Republicans, where are Lindsey Graham’s, where are these people who know how this works, to not be terrified of where this is at?
That Lindsay Graham has been dead and buried for a long time now. Elon Musk bought his way into the government and is certainly getting his money’s worth from traitor Trump.
MSNBC’s Steve Benen:
The Times added that this briefing, if it proceeds, “would also bring into sharp relief the questions about Mr. Musk’s conflicts of interest as he ranges widely across the federal bureaucracy while continuing to run businesses that are major government contractors. In this case, Mr. Musk, the billionaire chief executive of both SpaceX and Tesla, is a leading supplier to the Pentagon and has extensive financial interests in China.”
It’s that last point that is of particular interest. Musk isn’t just a billionaire and Republican megadonor. He also isn’t just overseeing a quasi-governmental “department” in the executive branch. Musk is also a businessman with extensive financial interests in China and close contacts with China’s government.All of which is to say, providing Musk with sensitive military information about China represents a profound and unnecessary risk.
