By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Billionaire Elon Musk took his campaign to cut the U.S. 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 “maliciously false information” about his visit.
Musk, whose businesses have a number of Defense Department contracts, met U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
At the White House after the meeting, Trump said that he did not want to show the United States’ plans for a potential war with China to anybody and hinted at Musk’s potential conflict of interest.
“I don’t want to show that to anybody. But certainly you wouldn’t show it to a businessman, who is helping us so much,” Trump said. “Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that,” Trump said.
Standing next to Trump, Hegseth said that he had an informal conversation with Musk which focused innovation and efficiencies.
“There was no war plans, no Chinese war plans. There was no secret plans,” Hegseth said.
Following controversy over the New York Times story, a planned meeting between Trump and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a secure meeting room in the Pentagon, known as “The Tank,” ultimately did not take place.
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 U.S. 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.
While Musk already has several contracts with the Pentagon, the opportunities for his companies, SpaceX in particular, under Trump could drive billions of dollars of revenue to his companies. Trump’s planned Golden Dome missile defense shield, which could require hundreds of sensors and other satellites to keep watch for incoming ballistic missiles, would be a natural fit for SpaceX and its Starlink unit.
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.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Daniel Wallis and Alistair Bell)
