Biden administration weighing options to block Musk’s takeover of Twitter | The Post Millennial
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Biden administration weighing options to block Musk’s takeover of Twitter
US officials see Musk as holding a “Russia-friendly stance following a series of tweets that outlined peace proposals favorable to President Vladimir Putin” and that now they are concerned about his “plans to buy Twitter with a group of foreign investors.”
The Biden administration is considering what options it has to heavily scrutinize and potentially block the sale of Twitter to Elon Musk after the billionaire CEO of Space X threatened that he would no longer pay for Ukraine to have free access to the Starlink satellite internet service.
Bloomberg reports that US officials see Musk as holding a "Russia-friendly stance following a series of tweets that outlined peace proposals favorable to President Vladimir Putin" and that now they are concerned about his "plans to buy Twitter with a group of foreign investors."
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As The Post Millennial has reported, the Biden administration has already sent over $60 billion to Ukraine with the expectation to dedicate tens of billions more as the conflict continues into the winter.
Elon Musk's $44 billion Twitter takeover could fall under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is an interagency group managed by the Treasury Department.
CFIUS can review what foreign entities are buying US businesses, and in Musk's case, he has investors backing him such as Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, a wealth fund in Qatar, and the Chinese Binance Holdings Ltd.
Earlier in October, reports emerged that confirmed that federal authorities were investigating Musk's buyout of Twitter over his communications with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, despite getting clearance from both to make the purchase.
Days later Musk threatened to pull Starlink after the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnik told Musk to "f*ck off."
Musk has noted that maintaining the satellite service free to Ukraine has cost him $80 million to date.
"Starlink has become an essential tool for communications in Ukraine during the Russian invasion," according to Bloomberg.
The billionaire offered to buy Twitter in April but then sought to end the acquisition a few months later, which resulted in a legal battle between him and the company.
Earlier this month, Musk announced he would go through with the original deal and this week reportedly told investors this week that he plans to cut Twitter’s workforce by almost 75 percent should his deal to buy the social media platform close.
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