(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Is Musk a National Security Threat? [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']
Date: 2022-10-21
Bloomberg is reporting today that the Biden Administration is considering checking more deeply into Elon Musk’s ties to foreign countries and investors, as he moves snail-like toward buying (and gutting?) Twitter. Bloomberg was focusing on the fact that Twitter shares plummeted on this news, and on WAPO’s report that Musk says he’ll cut 75% of Twitter staff, but seems like the national security aspect is more important.
According to Bloomberg (bolding mine):
US officials have grown uncomfortable over Musk’s recent threat to stop supplying the Starlink satellite service to Ukraine -- he said it had cost him $80 million so far -- and what they see as his increasingly Russia-friendly stance following a series of tweets that outlined peace proposals favorable to President Vladimir Putin. They are also concerned by his plans to buy Twitter with a group of foreign investors.
These investors include “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, Binance Holdings Ltd. -- a digital-asset exchange founded and run by a Chinese native -- and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.”
Well, considering the various global hostilities, it sounds sensible to me.
In another part of the article, Bloomberg considers how the government might have the ability to look at this on-again/off-again sale:
One possibility is through the law governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review Musk’s deals and operations for national security risks, they said. The interagency panel, known as CFIUS and overseen by the Treasury Department, reviews acquisitions of US businesses by foreign buyers.It is not clear if a CFIUS review -- which would involve assessments by the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security, among others -- would offer the government a legal way to conduct a review, the people said.
The article mentions that the US is becoming quite dependent on Musk’s gadgets, including plans to use Starlink in the US in case of emergencies… so, yeah, in my opinion, it’s worth making sure he’s not overly-attached to some foreign government (or for sale to the highest bidder).
The long article is worth reading in its entirety. H/t to TPM for the heads-up (even if I couldn’t read their take — subscription only).
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/21/2130337/-Is-Musk-a-National-Security-Threat
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
