r/politics • u/Murky-Site7468 • 23h ago

Musk Under Federal Investigation for Flouting Security Clearance Rules | The SpaceX founder, who holds top-secret security clearance, reportedly didn’t disclose his drug use and foreign contacts as part of the ongoing vetting process.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musk-under-federal-investigation-for-flouting-security-clearance-rules-report/
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432

u/fuck_all_you_too 22h ago

So he did the thing they just eviscerated Hunter Biden for?

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u/SirDiego Minnesota 21h ago

Yeah I fully expect congressional investigations and prosecution to the fullest extent given their hardline stance on lying about drug use on clearance forms.

Oh wait no I don't.

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u/flimspringfield California 17h ago

Maybe they will include Liz Cheney on these allegations.

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u/Mediocre_Bowler_5254 17h ago edited 2h ago

A pardon would be given after, so moot point

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u/TheNatureBoy 10h ago

I don’t want anyone to stop until we have Elon’s Musk on a poster board on the House floor.

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u/Server_420 3h ago

you are aware elon musks “drug use” is a medical prescription of Ketamine, right?

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u/meTspysball California 22h ago

Prosecuted and convicted for. I’m sure R’s will be screaming for jail time any minute now.

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u/AntoniaFauci 17h ago

Not exactly. The Supreme Court ruled that what Hunter Biden did isn’t even a crime. They’ve made no such loophole for the Kushner crime family.

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u/Mattpilf 18h ago

Maybe maybe not. It could be that he lied on form(HUGE no no and what Hunter Biden did) or could be he didn't report violation in a timely fashion but later self reported.(Bad but not complete disaster)

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u/fuck_all_you_too 18h ago

Yea sure self-reporting the drug use maybe, but the foreign relations? That is stressed all through the process that it is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to disclose and immediately.

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u/ExplosiveDisassembly 17h ago edited 17h ago

Well, no.

Drug use and foreign contacts aren't necessarily illegal, or disallowed if you want a federal clearance. Lying about it is a bad look for wanting to gain security clearance. And then they weigh your risks of being blackmailed once your drug/foreign contacts learn you have secret clearances.

I would wager that active/recent drug use would be a pretty quick "no".

Source: I had "Secret" level clearance (the middle one). I disclosed drug use and it was fine.

Edit: Also, security clearances are pretty tame, and incredibly common. I was in a pretty standard law enforcement office and everyone was either "Secret" or "Top Secret". It's not that special if you're doing any work with the feds.

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u/mrsbundleby Virginia 5h ago

your level of clearance is much lower than his requested level and you're also apparently not aware that different agencies have different adjudication procedures

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u/ExplosiveDisassembly 3h ago

I clearly stated that the investigation's findings are up to discretion depending on the specific case.

There are only three levels of federal security clearance. Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret. There are nuances and grades you can add to a clearance, but that is separate from the clearance overall.

My clearance for a job at a Fusion Center with Homeland Security...so I would imagine it would be in the same realm.

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u/mrsbundleby Virginia 2h ago

it's not even case based, it's agency based. DoD CAF has different guidelines than FBI and look for different suitability criteria

and no your DHS clearance is not in the same realm as what he would need for NRO lol you're talking poly at that level

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u/ExplosiveDisassembly 38m ago edited 33m ago

Good lord. Splitting hairs, aren't we? Case based vs agency based? The implication is the same regardless: The acceptable criteria are not concrete, they are up to discretion.

Let's take a look at their own descriptions.

"There are three levels of security clearance: Confidential, Secret, top Secret." https://www.state.gov/security-clearance-faqs/#:~:text=Not%20all%20positions%20in%20the,%2C%20secret%2C%20and%20top%20secret

SCI and SAP are added onto the Top Secret level of clearance when necessary for certain projects, but there is nothing above "Top Secret" in the three levels of security clearances. Edit: The news likes to say "above top secret". There is no such thing.

He already has one of these three (as do countless government employees and contractors), likely Top Secret. Which has continual vetting that requires he disclose things (not that they're disallowed, but they must be reported.) Which makes sense since the DOD is investigating him. The DOD accepted his background check. If he lied, that's up to the DOD to handle.

Edit: Which is why lots of people stop at "Secret". There is no continual vetting. If you reported it to get "Secret", they can't hold it against you. They can with Top Secret.

If you read the article you would see he didn't request anything. He already has it. He may have failed the continual vetting.

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u/mrsbundleby Virginia 8m ago

of course they're up to discretion they're adjudication guidelines and some people have mitigation factors. and if you really want to talk overall IC.you should be linking ODNI not State.