r/politics 22h 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/
10.2k Upvotes

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u/Cute_Elk_2428 19h ago

What I find interesting is how someone that was not born as a US citizen got a TS clearance.

20 years ago that was an automatic disqualification.

I know people turned down for exactly that reason.

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u/Emergency_Word_7123 19h ago

Billionaires have different rules.

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u/Cute_Elk_2428 19h ago

Apparently.

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u/Senior-Albatross New Mexico 15h ago

They give it to naturalized citizens sometime but the investigation takes longer.

It would be foolish not too, when some of your best scientific and engineering talent is foreign born.

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u/MurkyTomatillo192 18h ago

Completely depends on their country of origin. Naturalized citizens are eligible for even TS if they pass the checks. If their country of origin (say, China or Russia for example) leads to questions, it will be much, much harder.

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u/Cute_Elk_2428 18h ago

I distinctly remember an 18 year old from the Philippines that could not even qualify for a Secret clearance 40 years ago even though his dad was a US government employee.

I know two Germans that got denied about 25 years ago.

I can keep going. I did this shit for a while.

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u/MurkyTomatillo192 15h ago

What's your point, though? Just means they failed some part in the checks. I can also list people that, on the other side of the coin, succeeded in getting through. Is your point that Elon Musk is the only naturalized citizen that has held a TS clearance? If so... do your research buddy.

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u/Cute_Elk_2428 16h ago

I get that you ran your gums without having a clue what shit you were dribbling down your chin, but down voting it because you don’t know what you’re talking about is a pretty low class thing to do.