Fox News host Jessica Tarlov is noting a curious lack of transparency and the potential conflicts of interest regarding Elon Musk, who is cutting untold public spending with his Department of Government Efficiency — while having billions in federal contracts himself.
The world’s richest man notably spent a quarter-billion dollars to help reelect President Donald Trump, only to become a “special government employee” and the head of a new advisory group that is dismantling federal agencies and rooting out purported corruption.
Musk owns aerospace company SpaceX and electric vehicle company Tesla, however, which reportedly received billions in taxpayer subsidies and were being investigated by the same agencies Musk has been targeting — which Tarlov bluntly noted Wednesday on air.
“But the real issue here is that he’s talking a big game about transparency, but he’s not being transparent himself,” she said on Fox News. “This idea that Elon Musk shouldn’t have to do financial disclosures like everybody else who’s working in government is ludicrous.”
“And President Trump said yesterday, ‘Oh well, he doesn’t need to do it,’” Tarlov continued.
The White House is indeed refusing to release Musk’s own financial disclosure form or related ethics waivers he received as a newfound “special government employee.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed as much during a press briefing Wednesday and argued that the “constitutional crisis” many pundits are alarmed about is coming from the judges attempting to impede DOGE’s efforts — not from Trump or Musk.
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“The New York Times is reporting that at least 11 of the federal agencies that they have gone after have open complaints — over 32 open complaints — into Musk’s businesses,” Tarlov said Wednesday. “Don’t the American people deserve to know?”
The Times article published Tuesday showed Musk’s businesses were being investigated for fines, violations, lawsuits and complaints, until the agencies in charge were hampered by DOGE — whose leader hasn’t disclosed his own potential conflicts of interest.
“He has tens of billions of dollars in government contracts,” said Tarlov on Fox News. “If you are the DOGE master, then open up your own books. That’s part of the federal government. They are spending money on Elon Musk and all this technology [footed by taxpayers].”