Former general who investigated J6 says Elon Musk is a 'national security risk' influenced by China

Retired Lt-Gen. Russel L. Honoré, the man appointed by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to investigate Capitol Hill security after the Jan. 6 protest, is warning that Elon Musk is a “national security risk.” Honoré, who once suggested that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) should be on a no-fly list and Donald Trump Jr. arrested, wrote a column Sunday in The New York Times that suggested Musk is beholden to China. 

Honore began by noting that Musk’s partner in the Department of Government Efficiency, Vivek Ramaswamy, has been a severe critic of the X billionaire.

“According to numerous interviews and remarks, Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency co-leader, Vivek Ramaswamy, once appeared to believe he was. In May 2023, Mr. Ramaswamy went so far as to publicly state, ‘I have no reason to think Elon won’t jump like a circus monkey when Xi Jinping calls in the hour of need,’ a reference to China’s leader. In a separate X post targeting Mr. Musk, he wrote, ‘the U.S. needs leaders who aren’t in China’s pocket.’”

“Mr. Ramaswamy has since walked back his numerous public criticisms of Mr. Musk,” Honore continued, “but he was right to raise concerns. According to news reports, Mr. Musk and his rocket company, SpaceX, face federal reviews from the Air Force, the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General and the under secretary of defense for intelligence and security for failing to provide details of Mr. Musk’s meetings with foreign leaders and other potential violations of national-security rules.”

Honore says his other “worries” include Musk’s business being “heavily reliant on China. He borrowed at least $1.4 billion from banks controlled by the Chinese government to help build Tesla’s Shanghai gigafactory, which was responsible for more than half of Tesla’s global deliveries in the third quarter of 2024.”

The retired general says that is ominous because “China does not tend to give things away. The country’s laws stipulate that the Communist Party can demand intelligence from any company doing business in China, in exchange for participating in the country’s markets.”

He applauds any federal investigations into SpaceX and if these “demonstrate deep connections to China and Russia, the federal government should consider revoking Mr. Musk’s security clearance. It should already be thinking about using alternatives to SpaceX’s launch services.”

Honore insists that Musk’s considerable donations to Trump’s reelection campaign in no way provides “the incoming White House the license to look the other way at the national security risks he may pose. If Mr. Trump and his appointees mean what they say about getting tough on America’s adversaries, then they will act on this matter without delay. There is too much at stake to ignore what’s right in front of them.”