Elon Musk meets with the Pentagon, push for prosecuting information leakers

Billionaire Elon Musk convened a meeting at the Pentagon on Friday morning that lasted over an hour, during which he urged the prosecution of any Pentagon officials responsible for leaking misleading information regarding his visit. As a close associate of President Donald Trump, Musk is implementing significant reductions in U.S. federal government spending and was anticipated to receive briefings on several sensitive issues. According to The New York Times, he was to be informed about classified military strategies concerning China, a claim that both Musk and Trump have refuted.

Musk arrived in a motorcade and promptly ascended to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It remains uncertain if U.S. generals participated in the meeting remotely. Hegseth mentioned on X that the discussion would center on “innovation, efficiencies & smarter production.” The visit commenced shortly before 9 a.m. and lasted approximately 80 minutes. Upon leaving, Musk was observed sharing a light moment with Hegseth, expressing that the meeting was productive.

Prior to his Pentagon visit, Musk criticized The New York Times, labeling it as “pure propaganda.” He stated on X, “I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. They will be found.”

Trump also dismissed the report, asserting, “China will not even be mentioned or discussed,” in a post on Truth Social the day before the meeting. Gaining access to a highly classified military plan would significantly broaden Musk’s influence as a Trump advisor, particularly in his role advocating for reductions in U.S. government expenditure. This situation raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest for Musk, who leads Tesla and SpaceX and has business dealings in China as well as with the Pentagon.

The White House has indicated that Musk will step back from his responsibilities if any conflicts of interest emerge between his business activities and his involvement in reducing federal government expenditures.

Last week, Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, announced that she has initiated an investigation into leaks originating from within the intelligence community and is also examining internal chat rooms for potential employee misconduct.

Records made public in 2021 by the Justice Department, in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the independent watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, revealed that during Trump’s first term, his administration referred more media leaks for criminal investigation each year than had been seen in the previous 15 years.