The Wall Street Journal revealed that American agencies, including the Ministry of Internal Security and the Ministry of Justice, followed foreign citizens who visited billionaire Elon Mask during the years 2022 and 2023, for fear of possible attempts to influence him in light of his sensitive relations with US government contracts and extensive powers.
According to the newspaper, the investigation focused on members of Eastern European countries and other places, who visited Mask’s property, amid fears of indirect influence attempts on him.
Although officials of several agencies, including the FBI, have been informed of the investigation, the matter has not yet led to charges, and his legal condition is still unclear.
This step comes in a broader context of anxiety within the American security circles about the number of foreigners working with Musk, which runs five companies, including “SpaceX” contracting with national security agencies, and in his capacity as its CEO has a high -secret security permit that allows him to view sensitive information related to national security.
The newspaper pointed out that this investigation dates back to before President Donald Trump’s return to power last January, which came after a huge electoral campaign that received great financial support from the Supreme Political Work Committee close to Musk, which the billionaire funded mainly, along with his other political contributions.
Musk, born in South Africa and who holds American citizenship, had held a special consultative role at the beginning of the current term of President Trump, in charge of helping to develop a plan to reduce the federal budget, but the relationship between the two men recently collapsed in a public confrontation in which the two parties exchanged insults and threats.
According to the newspaper’s sources, tension regarding Mask’s relations with foreigners was clear during the past months, especially with the escalation of some members of the political work committee related to it, regarding the identity of people who attend meetings and events with him.
In a related context, Musk International’s relations are an additional concern, especially with reports indicating that he is in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022.
At a time when a comment was not issued by Musk on this information, the White House refused to make statements, and referred questions to the Ministry of Internal Security and the Federal Investigation Office, while White House officials confirmed that they do not have information about the existence of an investigation in this regard.
The FBI also refused to comment on the topic.
