Elon Musk’s unexpected visit to the Pentagon on Friday drew controversy after a report from The New York Times claimed that he would be briefed on classified US war plans with China. Musk, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth all have rejected the allegation, terming the report wrong and inflammatory, as reported by Reuters.
”There was no war plans, no Chinese war plans. There was no secret plans,” Hegseth mentioned in a joint appearance with Trump at the White House. The meeting was informal and was based on topics like cost-efficiency in defense operations and innovation, according to the Secretary.
Musk calls report false, urges prosecutions for leakers
Ahead of the meeting, Musk replied to the report, blaming the media outlet for spreading falsehoods. ”I look ahead to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to the NYT. They will be found,” he posted on X.
The Department of Defense replied with a memo from Hegseth’s chief of staff ordering a formal probe into unauthorized disclosures, also the chances of using polygraph tests to find out the internal leakers.
Meanwhile, the New York Times has defended its reporting, mentioning that leak investigations ”are meant to chill communications between journalists and their sources and disable the ability of a free press to bring out crucial information.”
Trump reaction to the controversy
Trump also responded to the controversy, distancing himself away from the idea of sharing sensitive information with Musk. ”I don’t want to show (war plans) to anybody…Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that, ” he said, as quoted by Reuters.
Amid heightened scrutiny, a scheduled secure meeting with the Joint Chiefs in the Pentagon’s classified ”Tank” room was cancelled. Lawmakers, along with Senators like Tammy Duckworth and Elizabeth Warren have since asked for details on what was shared with Musk in the meeting and why.
(With inputs from Reuters)