Billionaire Elon Musk took his campaign to cut the US federal government into uncharted waters on Friday, holding an unprecedented top-level meeting at the Pentagon and calling for the prosecution of any Defense Department officials leaking false information about his visit.
Musk met US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for 80 minutes in his first such talks at the Pentagon, which is responsible for a large chunk of federal government spending. It was unclear whether US generals joined that meeting virtually.
The New York Times reported that Musk would be briefed on secret war plans for China, something Musk, Trump and others denied. Musk called the report "pure propaganda" and urged legal action against leakers.
"I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. They will be found," he wrote on X before the Hegseth meeting.
President Donald Trump, who has not yet visited the Pentagon in his second term as president, also denied the story. "China will not even be mentioned or discussed," he said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday about the meeting. Later he told reporters the Pentagon meeting was to address costs.
"Elon was over there to address costs – DOGE – a thing called DOGE, which you have heard about," Trump, referring to Musk's Department of Government Efficiency
Access to a closely guarded military plan would mark a sharp expansion of Musk's role as the Trump adviser who is spearheading efforts to cut US government spending.
It would also fuel questions about conflicts of interest for Musk, who as the head of Tesla and SpaceX also has business interests in China.
The White House has previously said Musk will recuse himself if any conflicts of interest arise between his business dealings and his role in cutting federal government spending.
Musk arrived in a motorcade at the Pentagon on Friday morning and quickly moved upstairs to meet Hegseth who said on X the talks would focus on "innovation, efficiencies & smarter production."
As he departed, Musk was seen joking with Hegseth, and said the meeting went well.
"If there's anything I can do to be helpful, I would like us to have a good outcome here," Musk said as he departed.
Musk's businesses Starlink and SpaceX have a number of Pentagon contracts, raising questions about conflicts of interest as he advocates for innovation and re-prioritization of Pentagon spending to find efficiencies.
Last week, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said she had ordered an investigation into leaks from inside the intelligence community and is also probing internal chat rooms for any misconduct by employees.
During Trump's first term, his administration referred more media leaks for criminal investigation each year than in any of the previous 15 years, according to records released in 2021 by the Justice Department to the independent watchdog group, Project on Government Oversight, in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
