In the final years of President Biden’s term, as Elon Musk began publicly criticizing Democrats and shifted his support to Donald Trump, multiple federal agencies launched a quiet but sweeping inquiry into Musk's foreign associates.
The investigation, reported by the Wall Street Journal, involved the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and included briefings to officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It focused on foreign nationals — particularly from Eastern Europe and other sensitive geopolitical regions - who were seen traveling to and from Musk’s private properties in 2022 and 2023.
While the probe never led to formal charges and its current status remains unclear, it smacks of yet another politically motivated investigation, while government defenders may argue it was warranted given Musk's proximity to America’s most closely guarded government secrets. The inquiry predated Trump’s return to power in January and was allegedly prompted in part by concerns that foreign actors could attempt to sway or compromise the influential CEO.
The timing, of course, makes that assertion highly suspect.
Musk, who runs five companies including SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter), has enjoyed privileged access to senior government officials and oversees ventures that contract directly with U.S. defense and intelligence agencies. SpaceX, in particular, holds highly sensitive launch and satellite surveillance agreements with the Pentagon.
Trump administration officials, when asked about the prior investigation, said they had no knowledge of it. Since returning to office, the president has cracked down on foreign influence, issuing a series of executive orders restricting international travel and enrollment in American universities, and imposing new vetting requirements on political donors and campaign associates with ties abroad.
The irony, current and former officials note, is that one of Trump’s closest political allies had already been the subject of a counterintelligence review under his predecessor.
Musk’s relationship with Trump has unraveled dramatically in recent days following a public feud that erupted on social media and spilled into news conferences. Once described by insiders as the administration’s “shadow budget director,” Musk had briefly served as a special government employee tasked with streamlining federal expenditures. He was also the primary benefactor behind America PAC, a political action committee that poured more than $250 million into Trump’s reelection campaign, much of it from Musk’s own fortune.
According to the report, as Musk’s influence grew, so too did concern among his political and corporate peers about the people in his orbit.
Even as they worked together over the past few months, however, there had been signs of tension over Musk’s association with foreign nationals.
Musk traveled with foreigners to such an extent that the staff of his super PAC, which he started last year to help re-elect Trump, became concerned about who was joining him at meetings and events, two people familiar with the group’s operations said.
An official at the group, called America PAC, said they had to institute extensive vetting to keep foreigners out of their efforts. Two campaign staffers also said they were worried about Musk’s coterie of foreign nationals. -WSJ
And here we go again... the Journal of course goes into a report they broke in October - the peak of Trump-Musk campaigning before the election, that Musk had maintained direct contact with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin since late 2022, sparking internal alarm among national security officials and raising questions about the propriety of such outreach during an active conflict in Ukraine.
The Journal also claims that SpaceX attorneys advised Musk against pursuing a higher security clearance, fearing that formal disclosure of his foreign communications could either jeopardize the application or trigger its revocation.
Still, Musk remains a figure of enormous influence inside and outside government. His ventures span commercial spaceflight, artificial intelligence, transportation, and social media - sectors deeply entwined with U.S. national security and public discourse. His naturalized U.S. citizenship, obtained after emigrating from South Africa, does not exempt him from the types of scrutiny often applied to private individuals with sensitive access and overseas entanglements.