Grassley Releases 2025 FBI Email Seeking Criminal Probe of Musk Over X Posts
Updated
Updated · Lower Bucks Times · Sep 16
Grassley Releases 2025 FBI Email Seeking Criminal Probe of Musk Over X Posts
3 articles · Updated · Lower Bucks Times · Sep 16
Summary
A declassified Feb. 22, 2025 FBI email shows former agent Kevin Gounaud urged colleagues to open a criminal case into Elon Musk over X posts tied to the Department of Government Efficiency and OPM messages to federal workers.
Gounaud argued the posts wasted official work time, exposed employee information beyond a need-to-know basis, may have enriched Musk through X revenue, and could amount to blackmail because one post said nonresponse would be treated as resignation.
Chuck Grassley made the email public at a Tuesday Senate hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel, saying the records show a broader pattern of federal law enforcement targeting Trump allies and Republicans.
Grassley linked the disclosure to earlier controversies including Crossfire Hurricane and the FBI's Round River operation, while his office said the scrutiny of Musk as a special government employee showed a double standard compared with the Clinton-era handling of Huma Abedin.