Why Does Elon Musk Still Have a Security Clearance? (October 28, 2024)
www.theatlantic.com

... Yesterday, The New York Times reported that people around Donald Trump are trying to figure out how "to quickly install loyalists in major positions without subjecting them to the risk of long-running and intrusive F.B.I. background checks."

Trump's people, unsurprisingly, are worried about whether they'd pass a background check: As Atlantic contributor Peter Wehner wrote in September, the MAGA-dominated GOP "is a moral freak show, and freak shows attract freaks""who tend to have a hard time getting security clearances.

The first Trump administration was rife with people (including his son-in-law, Jared Kushner) who were walking national-security risks, none worse than Trump himself. A second term, in which Trump would be free of adult supervision, would be even worse. ...

Elon Musk joined Trump's call with Zelensky
www.axios.com

... Donald Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday included two surprises: Elon Musk was also on the line, and Zelensky was somewhat reassured by what he heard from the president-elect, two sources with knowledge of the call tell Axios.

Why it matters: The new details of the call underscore how influential Musk could be in the second Trump administration, and the uncertainty over how exactly Trump will approach Ukraine.

Between the lines: Trump's public messages throughout the election campaign -- promising a quick resolution to the war, declining to say which side he wanted to win and criticizing the massive aid packages flowing from Washington -- raised alarm bells in Kyiv and throughout Europe. ...

- - -After Zelensky congratulated Trump, the president-elect said he will support Ukraine, but didn't go into details.

- - -Three sources briefed on the call all told Axios that Zelensky felt the call went well and that it did not increase his anxiety about Trump's victory. One source said it "didn't leave Zelensky with a feeling of despair."

- - -Musk also weighed in during the call to say he will continue supporting Ukraine through his Starlink satellites, the sources said. Musk did not respond to a request for comment. ...