The SpaceX CEO reportedly spoke with Vladimir Putin, the Wall Road Journal reported in October
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk needs to be investigated over media claims that he communicated with a number of senior Russian officers lately, two high Democratic senators have demanded in a letter.
Jack Reed, the chairman of the Senate Armed Companies Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the International Relations Committee, raised considerations in regards to the media allegations in a letter to US Lawyer Basic Merrick Garland and Pentagon Inspector Basic Robert Storch on Friday.
In October, on the top of the US presidential election, the Wall Road Journal claimed that Musk had communicated with a number of high Russian officers, together with President Vladimir Putin, as just lately as this yr.
Musk oversees billions of {dollars} in US authorities contracts as CEO of SpaceX. Because the tech billionaire claims to carry high secret degree safety clearance, and manages extraordinarily delicate authorities contracts, his potential communication with Russia is a threat, the senators mentioned.
“These relationships between a well known US adversary and Mr. Musk, a beneficiary of billions of {dollars} in US authorities funding, pose critical questions relating to Mr. Musk’s reliability as a authorities contractor and a clearance holder,” they wrote.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blasted the pre-election WSJ claims in regards to the billionaire’s alleged cellphone calls with Putin as “disinformation.” Traditionally, there was just one name between the 2, he mentioned.
“It was earlier than 2022, they spoke over the phone,” Peskov said, including that they mentioned Russia’s scientific progress, and sure future developments. “There have been no contacts between Musk and Putin after that, and all claims in any other case are false.”
The spokesman famous the claims are probably associated to the “extraordinarily confrontational electoral political struggle” within the US.
After his victory within the US presidential race, Donald Trump introduced that Musk will head the long run Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE). The initiative will goal to chop trillions of {dollars} in “waste and fraud” in annual US authorities spending, “dismantle Authorities Forms, slash extra laws, reduce wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Companies,” Trump mentioned on Thursday.
Musk mentioned his function in DOGE “goes to be a revolution.”
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