WH denies any ‘discussions’ concerning federal reviews of Elon Musk’s Twitter, Starlink ventures

The world’s quirkiest billionaire, Elon Musk, may be on the verge of taking over Twitter and could turn off Ukraine’s access to the internet, but according to the White House, the Biden administration is unaware of any plans to subject Musk’s ventures to national security reviews, even though both the Twitter deal and Musk’s Starlink network have the potential to deliver meaningful blows to the administration’s ongoing agendas.

According to Bloomberg, “US officials have grown uncomfortable over Musk’s recent threat to stop supplying the Starlink satellite service to Ukraine — he said it had cost him $80 million so far — and what they see as his increasingly Russia-friendly stance following a series of tweets that outlined peace proposals favorable to President Vladimir Putin. They are also concerned by his plans to buy Twitter with a group of foreign investors.”

While the Biden administration can’t legally stick its nose into Musk’s business because they don’t like what he tweets, sources familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg that U.S. government officials and the not-at-all “deep state” intelligence community is in the early stages of discussing ways it can throw whatever tools it has in its substantial arsenal to let the federal government review Musk’s ventures.

One path to federal meddling could come via the law governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the sources say, which would allow the feds to review the South African Tesla founder’s deals and operations for national security risks.

“The interagency panel, known as CFIUS and overseen by the Treasury Department, reviews acquisitions of US businesses by foreign buyers,” Bloomberg reports, adding, “It is not clear if a CFIUS review — which would involve assessments by the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security, among others — would offer the government a legal way to conduct a review.”

With the presence of foreign investors in Musk’s $44 billion Twitter transaction that includes, according to the outlet, “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, Binance Holdings Ltd. — a digital-asset exchange founded and run by a Chinese native — and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund,” a CFIUS review could potentially be triggered.

On news of the potential reviews, Twitter shares plunged 5.1% as the stock market opened in New York on Friday.

Meanwhile, White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson told Bloomberg, “we do not know of any such discussions.”

In a response on Twitter to Bloomberg’s article in which a user stated, “It would be hysterical if the government stopped Elon from over paying for Twitter,” Musk replied with his characteristic humor.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1583264626053042176?s=20&t=W88xtEBdwRSr24YnH13zMQ

Musk raised eyebrows and sparked an international Twitter storm when he suggested that he should be compensated by the federal government for providing Ukraine with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, even going so far as to threaten to shut Ukraine off.

Ultimately, as BizPac Review reported, Musk stated, “to hell with it” and agreed to continue supplying the nation that has already received billions of American taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.

According to former presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard, the move to review Musk’s dealings is nothing short of authoritarian in nature.

“Biden Admin/Power Elite cooking up ways to destroy @ElonMusk because they can’t control him—just like Trump,” she tweeted.

“Expect them to use every law enforcement and regulatory body as weapons to bring Musk down or force him to surrender,” she continued. “Blatant authoritarianism.”

https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1583414733478064128?s=20&t=xLgrRY3hsJpxDc65EFuEjg

Melissa Fine

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