New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman got an earful when she confronted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Haberman who’s no stranger to the White House briefing room may have been taken a little aback when she questioned Leavitt’s claims of “transparency” regarding DOGE head Elon Musk and his alleged conflicts of interests.
“You talked about the transparency with DOGE and Elon Musk’s press availability yesterday,” Haberman began. “There is a conflict of interest law in place that says that people who have personal interests can’t interact with government entities that can touch on those.”
Haberman then questioned Leavitt about a “waiver” signed by Trump and if it exists, would be available to the public in the name of “transparency.”
Then, Leavitt let Haberman have it.
HABERMAN: Has President Trump signed a conflict of interest waiver for Elon Musk?
LEAVITT: I have not seen the law you are referring to. Elon said everything he’s doing is very public and if you all perceive a conflict of interest, you are welcome to bring that up. pic.twitter.com/6dB5Q4NZYg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 12, 2025
Leavitt explained that Musk filling the proper financial disclosures and “complying with all applicable laws.”
“As you also heard, Elon addressed this directly yesterday and the alleged conflict of interest,” Leavitt continued. “And he said everything he’s doing is very public. And if you all perceive a conflict of interest, you’re welcome to bring that up…”
“… We’re very confident with the ethics and the guardrails that have been put in place here.”
And with that there wasn’t much Haberman could come back with, but X users had plenty to say, some even brought receipts:
“elons not been transparent”
— Matt (@amattattack) February 12, 2025
The Democrats are losing the PR war because they brought a Ph.D. thesis to a gunfight.
— Anthony M. Hopper (@elander777) February 12, 2025
Maggie should be the next one held accountable for all her Russian lies
— Brandon Johnson (@Patriot_45_) February 12, 2025
As for Musk, he’s expecting the criticism. “I fully expect to be scrutinized and get a daily proctologist exam. I will be scrutinized nonstop,” Musk said.
Elon: “I fully expect to be scrutinized and get a daily proctologist exam. I will be scrutinized nonstop.” pic.twitter.com/70JN0qwFmI
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) February 11, 2025
website built so that Americans can see where their hard-earned tax dollars were/are being spent.
JUST IN: Musk and DOGE Launch Website to Ensure Maximum Transparency for American Taxpayers
In a move to promote government transparency, Elon Musk and the DOGE team launched a new website https://t.co/5vcxnR9Rus dedicated to making government audit information accessible.
The… pic.twitter.com/nFH3n1jm1C
— MAGA Resource (@MAGAResource) February 14, 2025
How's that for transparency?
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