A former FBI agent has alleged that Russia’s GRU intelligence agency targeted tech billionaire Elon Musk for exploitation and offered him direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Former FBI Counterintelligence Special Agent Jonathan Buma stated that Russian intelligence had special operations to influence Silicon Valley tech CEOs such as Musk and venture capitalist Peter Thiel that included gathering damning information that could later be used as blackmail.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
“Musk’s susceptibility to promiscuous women and drug use, particularly ketamine… were seen by Russian intelligence as an opportunity for an agent to exploit,” said the former FBI Special Agent in a recently released documentary by the German Television Broadcaster ZDF.
The agent explained that Musk’s proclivity for the desert rave scene Burning Man, adult entertainment, and gambling were seen by Russian security agents as a possible entry point to the tech billionaire.
Ukrainian Forces Strike Volgograd Defense Plant and Targets in Occupied Crimea
Musk has allegedly been in direct contact with Putin since at least 2022, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Buma, who served 16 years as a counterintelligence officer for the FBI, was arrested in March and charged by federal prosecutors with one count of “Disclosure of Confidential Information” for sharing classified information with a publishing company. Buma is currently free on $100,000 bail.
Musk has a complicated history with Ukraine, initially expressing support for the country and offering his Starlink satellite internet service free of charge to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) shortly after the onset of the full-scale war in 2022.
But later that same year, he threatened to revoke access to the service.
He became even more critical of Ukraine by 2024 as he aligned himself with the policies of US President Donald Trump, who had begun questioning Kyiv’s leadership and continued American support during his run for the presidency.
After donating an unprecedented $288 million to Trump’s election campaign, Musk was tapped to head the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE – a presidential advisory group given authority by Trump to identify alleged waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the federal government.
According to the United States Constitution, only the US Congress can create executive branch agencies or presidential cabinet-level departments, whereas DOGE was created unilaterally by Trump.
Despite DOGE’s apparent marching orders, the agency has been accused of firing nuclear safety officials, misrepresenting the department’s savings, and improperly handling sensitive data systems instead of cutting “unnecessary” costs.
Musk has recently seen his popularity fall in the United States, along with the profitability of some of his companies.
Last month, Musk signaled that he would be stepping back from his role as the chair of DOGE to focus on his company Tesla, which has seen a rapid decline in market value since last year.
Musk traveled alongside Trump on his Middle East tour this week, where he arrived alongside the US president in a Cybertruck-led motorcade to later share a dinner with the Qatari Emir and other officials, as reported by Business Insider.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
Attack on Moscow Oil Refinery: Putin Under Pressure?
