FBI Considered Investigating Elon Musk
An FBI agent reportedly intended to initiate a criminal investigation against SpaceX CEO Elon Musk back in February, claiming that Musk had breached information security protocols and misused government resources. This information was disclosed through documents provided by Chuck Grassley, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
During a recent oversight hearing featuring FBI Director Kash Patel, Grassley unveiled a series of internal documents that highlighted controversial actions taken by certain FBI agents. These included a proposal made in 2025 to pursue legal action against Musk, as well as earlier attempts by some personnel to infiltrate the investigation into President Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia.
The documents span internal communications from 2017 to 2025, focusing on both the FBI’s inquiry into Russia and the push to investigate Musk. Grassley expressed concerns that the FBI was operating in a “deep state” manner against President Trump.
“The previous Democrat administrations under Obama and Biden conducted secret, insidious and downright evil operations that almost took down our government,” Grassley stated during the hearing, emphasizing that such actions might be “worse than Watergate.”
In an email from 2025, disclosed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, former Special Agent Kevin Gounaud accused Musk, who was overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the time, of wasting significant government time and violating information security standards.
Grassley continued, remarking that the persistent efforts by what he termed the Deep State in the shadows of bureaucracy surpass anything Trump has faced, suggesting, “At least he’s upfront and open so people can judge.”
Over the past decade, the Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Grassley, has released various documents related to FBI operations like Operation Arctic Frost and Round River, asserting that the Justice Department has been weaponized against Trump and other Republicans.
These recently released records accompany files connected to Crossfire Hurricane, which was the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russian electoral interference. That probe ultimately did not establish any evidence of a criminal conspiracy.
A key aspect of this latest release from the Senate Judiciary Committee involves three former FBI agents—Gounaud, Timothy Thibault, and Walter Giardina, the latter of whom was dismissed by Patel amid claims of political bias.
Gounaud, who departed from the FBI in February, had previously sent an email proposing a criminal investigation into Musk, who was then a special government employee managing DOGE.
In February 2025, Gounaud proposed the investigation, claiming that Musk had misused government time, violated security protocols, and benefitted financially by promoting the DOGE initiative on X, formerly Twitter.
Gounaud’s concerns were particularly focused on Musk’s directive sent to federal employees, asking them to list “five things” they achieved within the week, with a strict 48-hour deadline for responses. Musk had indicated on X that not responding would be viewed as a resignation.
“Musk used a non-government system (Twitter) to relay information that allegedly was for official purposes. In doing so, because he is monetized (as the majority owner of Twitter), he likely generated income for himself,” wrote Gounaud. He compared Musk’s actions to Hillary Clinton’s controversial use of a private email server for government-related communications.
Although prosecutors never acted on Gounaud’s suggestion, his email has been used by some lawmakers to argue that there are rogue or politically influenced factions within the FBI eager to create legal frameworks to target GOP figures.
DOGE, which Musk launched to audit federal spending, was introduced in January 2025 and concluded its activities on July 4, 2026.
