Elon Musk investigation sought by former FBI agent, records show

Declassified FBI emails reveal that former Special Agent Kevin Gounaud sought to launch a criminal investigation into Elon Musk in February 2025. The proposal followed Musk’s involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and his request for federal employees to submit weekly lists of their accomplishments.

Gounaud compared Musk’s use of the social media platform X to promote DOGE initiatives to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. In his correspondence, Gounaud suggested that Musk and officials at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) conspired to encourage thousands of employees to violate security policies by transmitting information outside of a strict need-to-know basis.

The former agent also raised concerns regarding personal enrichment, noting that Musk’s use of X—a company he owns—could involve monetization. Additionally, Gounaud characterized Musk’s statement that failure to respond to the weekly reporting requirement would be taken as a resignation as a form of blackmail. The documents were released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley.