Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who is now central to Donald Trump’s election campaign, has been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin for the past two years, according to a report in the US.
The Wall Street Journal, citing several in-post and former US, European and Russian officials, reported that the conversations between the two men ranged from the personal to the geopolitical and included a request from the Russian leader not to activate his Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan as a favour to the Chinese leader and Putin ally, Xi Jinping.
Isn’t this espionage/treason? He has security clearance, he should not have contact with foreign government officials or sabotage our allies.
Absolutely, but he’s rich so it’s okay.
Rich and a Republican
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Removed, advocating violence. Lemmy.world can’t afford to get on a list. :)
Absolutely fair. Bad mood.
Removed, advocating violence. Plus, isn’t Musk still a foreign national? Not sure how “Treason” applies to non-Americans.
You’re kidding me… I was discussing whether his actions meet the definition of a crime and therefore whether the established legal punishment would be appropriate. As others have commented he IS an American citizen (from 2002) and there’s no question of jurisdiction here. Although treason is a very high bar (despite mounting evidence) and it is much more likely that he could be got for sedition under the Smith Act or something.
I disagree with your decision. I think your effort would be better spent focusing on the folks actually advocating for vigilantism.
He is and he isn’t. He’s a citizen of South Africa, Canada, and the USA.
Or at the least, a violation of the Logan Act.
Also a potential breach of ITAR.
Money
Now there’s an immigrant destroying the country
Someone remind me what happened involving Musk almost exactly two years ago… I’m pretty sure something relevant happened on October 28, 2022… I remember a little bird chirping in my ear…
And, I even wonder if anyone would be surprised by this news.
Clue please?
I gave clues, but…
So combined with his interjection into politics, wouldn’t this be two serious crimes he’s committed?
Yeah, but he has a lot of money so it is fine.
Everything is fine.
Oh, for us?
No no. We’re fucked.
what does the word crime even mean anymore
It’s when poor people do something the wealthy don’t like.
A billionaire might have done something illegal and possibly treasonous?
I wonder if anyone will follow through on this.
I’m sure Trump will follow through with a pardon as he hands the US to Russia
I would understand it if Musk was in anyway threatening. But he’s obviously a child trying to sit at the adult table. All anyone has to do is insult him at grade school level and he flinches.
Him and most of the other wackos right now are like Bond villain D tier henchmen. How is no one taking these morons down? Is this really how the people in power cave, by letting these fools run free?
As silly as it sounds … there was a similar argument for the National Socialist Party in Germany in the 1930s. Many people thought they were a joke and weren’t taken seriously at first.
Put enough money, finances and marketing behind a movement no matter how insane it is and it can quickly go out of control.
What people don’t realize is that it is money and finance that make these movements possible. They don’t just appear out of thin air through the force of one personality or the cult following of one person. It takes money to sell an idea and the more money you spend on it, the bigger the idea will become. These nut jobs are being funnelled millions of dollars either directly or indirectly to spread their garbage. Part of the problem is the insane personality that everyone glorifies … the greatest problem are the millionaires and billionaires and corporations that fund these idiots to push their own agenda from the background.
When nobody stops the clown coup they eventually find their way into running the damn circus. Silliness is no excuse for evil, nor is general incompetence. There’s a reason that attempted murder is a crime.
These nut jobs are being funnelled millions of dollars either directly or indirectly to spread their garbage.
In related news:
- Right-wing influencers say they were dupes in an alleged Russian influence operation. They’re keeping their millions, for now (CNN, Sept. 2024)
“Last week, the Justice Department alleged that Russian state media producers funneled nearly $10 million to an unnamed Tennessee-based company, later determined by CNN to be Tenet Media, to create and amplify content that often featured narratives and themes supported by the Kremlin. Tenet Media boasts a slate of high-profile right-wing, pro-Trump commentators including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson and several others.”
They claim to have been duped yet they’re still keeping the money and still pushing the propaganda. Seems legit.
Well said.
He has money.
People want money.
I like money
Frito Pendejo
The republicans tried, but you can’t become president if you were born a South African
…yet
Never fucking happen
Wouldn’t surprise me if Putin is deploying underage honey-trapping on these guys like Trump/Elon/Tucker/etc., covertly filming it, and then blackmail owning them thereafter.
He doesn’t have to. They all envy his position of power ( dictatorship).
I also assume something like this. Seems like Putin has has had kompromat on Trump since the 90s.
I think Putin might just be the big head, then Elon, then Trump
While I agree, I also feel it’s deserving to have little vladdy as the smallest doll in the Russian doll set.
No, it’s who’s working for who. I read it as putin is the rotten core of it all.
Well we can all agree that Trump is a puppet
Wouldn’t this be a violation of the Logan Act?
Apparently, in the 21st century, you can violate the Logan Act as much as you like.
When you run starlink they let you do it. You can do anything.
Implications for the ongoing election as well as the war in Ukraine. Starlink comms likely provide important intelligence that Putin could use.
Is t there a law that says private citizens shouldn’t be representing the US with foreign leaders?
Why yes there is, from the 19th century. But it’s not about abortion, so surely is unenforceable.
If he wasn’t the richest being in the known universe, he’d be fighting an indictment right now.
Of all the reasons I’d put that dipshit on blast. This one is just silly. Probably true. Not denying that. Its just stupid. That he, wildly overinflated dumbass of an ego constantly high on his own farts, thought his in-house security was better than the INFOSEC nerds at Langley.
Worse than that. It wont matter. This is America. The amount of money the fuckwit has means he’s quite literally untouchable. Because this is the bad place. We live in hell.
Pretty sure I died in 2016 or maybe it was 2020. Either way you might be right
His businesses should be barred from getting any kind of government contracts. ISS would be hard, but definitely no army contracts, etc.
Nah, just force him to sell spaceX.
Much simpler… Let his products be unsold in the market or customers ban them personally
Destroy the American traitors propping up Putin to dispel the invasion of Ukraine and score a victory for the planet.
What do you want to bet the NSA has recordings of Musk’s phone calls? Probably the only thing preventing the feds from using these recordings would be they would have to let on they have this capability.
