Nearly seven months after a published report said billionaire Elon Musk had repeatedly held phone conversations with Vladimir Putin and other high-level Russians, there is no sign the Defense Department is reassessing Musk’s role as a major defense contractor with a top-secret security clearance.
Senior Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee called last November for the Biden administration to review Musk’s clearance and consider whether he should continue to be involved in SpaceX contracts. They reiterated those calls in interviews this week.
If any other U.S. defense contractor with a top-secret clearance — or any Defense Department employee — had repeatedly spoken by phone with leaders of arguably America’s principal foreign adversary, it would raise serious questions, at a minimum, several senators said.
