Elon Musk holds unprecedented Pentagon talks, wants leakers prosecuted

“There was no war plans, no Chinese war plans. There was no secret plans,” Hegseth said.

After controversy over the New York Times story, a planned meeting between Musk and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a secure meeting room in the Pentagon, known as “The Tank”, ultimately did not take place.

Access to a closely guarded military plan would mark a sharp expansion of Musk’s role as the Trump adviser who is spearheading efforts to cut US government spending.

It would also fuel questions about conflicts of interest for Musk, who as the head of Tesla and SpaceX also has business interests in China.

“There is no legitimate national security or other rationale for providing this information to Mr Musk,” two Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth, wrote in a letter to Hegseth, demanding details on what information was shared with Musk and why.

The White House has previously said Musk will recuse himself if any conflicts of interest arise between his business dealings and his role in cutting federal government spending.

Musk’s businesses Starlink and SpaceX already have a number of Pentagon contracts, raising questions about conflicts of interest as he advocates for innovation and re-prioritisation of Pentagon spending to find efficiencies.

The opportunities for his companies, SpaceX in particular, under Trump could drive billions of dollars of revenue to his firms. Trump’s planned Golden Dome missile defence shield, which would require hundreds of sensors and other satellites to keep watch for incoming ballistic missiles, would be a natural fit for SpaceX and its Starlink unit.

Musk arrived in a motorcade at the Pentagon on Friday morning and quickly moved upstairs to meet Hegseth. As he departed, Musk was seen joking with the defence secretary, and said the meeting went well.

“If there’s anything I can do to be helpful, I would like us to have a good outcome here,” Musk said as he departed.

Last week, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said she had ordered an investigation into leaks from inside the intelligence community and is also probing internal chat rooms for any misconduct by employees.

During Trump’s first term, his administration referred more media leaks for criminal investigation each year than in any of the previous 15 years, according to records released in 2021 by the justice department to the independent watchdog group, Project on Government Oversight, in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. 

Reuters