Elon Musk wants Pentagon leakers prosecuted

Mr Musk, who has multiple contracts with the US Department of Defense, met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for 80 minutes in his first meeting at the Pentagon, which controls a large portion of the federal budget. It was not immediately clear whether US generals would attend the meeting virtually.

The New York Times reported that Mr. Musk was briefed on secret U.S. war plans against China, but Musk, President Donald Trump and others have denied the information. Musk called the article “pure propaganda” and called for legal action against those who leaked the information.

"I look forward to prosecuting those at the Pentagon who maliciously leaked false information to the NYT. They will be found," billionaire Musk wrote on social network X before meeting Mr. Hegseth.

A spokesperson for The New York Times said that leak investigations “are intended to stifle communication between journalists and their sources and undermine the ability of a free press to expose important information that might otherwise be hidden.”

Mr. Hegseth’s chief of staff, in a memo late on March 21, called for an investigation into “unauthorized disclosures of national security information,” including the possible use of polygraph tests.

At the White House after the meeting, President Trump said he did not want to reveal America's war plans with China to anyone and hinted at a potential conflict of interest for Mr. Musk.

"I don't want to show it to anybody. But you certainly wouldn't show it to a businessman, even if he's doing us a great favor," Mr. Trump said. "Elon has businesses in China, and he might be affected by that."

Standing next to President Trump, Hegseth confirmed that he had an informal conversation with Musk about innovation and optimizing defense spending.

“There is no war plan, no secret war plan involving China,” Hegseth stressed.

Following the controversy surrounding the New York Times article, a scheduled meeting between Musk and members of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in a top-secret Pentagon conference room known as "The Tank" did not take place.

According to Reuters, access to the classified military plan would mark a dramatic expansion of billionaire Musk's role as an adviser to Mr. Trump, who is leading efforts to cut government spending.

This also raises concerns about Musk's conflict of interest, as he is both CEO of Tesla and SpaceX - two companies with business interests in China.

“The United States has no legitimate national security or other reason to provide this information to Mr. Musk,” Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth wrote in a letter to Hegseth, asking for clarity on what information was shared with Musk and why he had access to it.

The White House has previously said Musk would recuse himself from decisions if there was a conflict of interest between his business activities and his role in cutting federal spending.

Musk's companies like Starlink and SpaceX currently have multiple contracts with the Pentagon, raising questions about conflicts of interest as he advocates innovation and reprioritizes Pentagon spending in the search for efficiency.

The opportunities for Musk’s companies, especially SpaceX, under Trump could mean billions of dollars in revenue for his businesses. Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense plan, which would require hundreds of sensors and satellites to monitor incoming ballistic missiles, would be a logical choice for SpaceX and Musk’s Starlink unit.

Musk arrived at the Pentagon on the morning of March 21 in a motorcade and quickly went upstairs to meet Hegseth. As he left, Musk was seen joking with the defense secretary and said the meeting went well.

“If there is anything I can do to help, I hope we can have a good outcome,” Mr. Musk said as he left.

Last week, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said she had ordered an investigation into leaks from within the intelligence community and was examining internal chat rooms to identify employee misconduct.

During Mr. Trump’s first term, his administration referred more media leaks to the Justice Department for criminal investigation than any administration in the previous 15 years, according to documents released by the Justice Department in 2021 to the independent watchdog organization Project on Government Oversight following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.