Due to Musk’s connections to foreign governments and investors, Treasury Department officials are examining whether they have the legal jurisdiction to launch an investigation into the purchase, according to people familiar with the discussions.
It was not immediately obvious if Treasury officials were aware of the conditions giving big investors access to information. It is quite usual to investigate whether a review was necessary, although these first investigations frequently do not result in a complete probe.
Another person claims that White House officials had previously discussed the potential for a national security review of the transaction. According to two people familiar with the investigation, FBI officials also looked into possible counterintelligence risks associated with the deal this past spring.
It is unclear, however, whether senior bureau officials have studied the issue or if those discussions are still ongoing. Everyone spoke under the condition of anonymity in order to discuss topics that they were not authorized to make public.
Investors supporting Musk’s purchase of Twitter include the holding firm of a Saudi prince, a division of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, and Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange that was initially established in China but has subsequently relocated its operations overseas. Additionally, Musk has strong ties to China through his role as CEO of Tesla.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Musk or his lawyer, Alex Spiro.
The U.S. government is making initial efforts to examine the Twitter purchase as the billionaire makes fresh structural changes to one of the most potent communication venues in the world.
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One individual with knowledge of the situation said that Treasury staff at the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) have not yet decided whether Musk’s acquisition of the social media platform could result in a national security assessment.
Musk is an American citizen, and CFIUS reviews are frequently used to look into foreign investors’ investments. As a result, it is unclear if they can start such a study, and policy experts disagree as to whether it would be necessary.
Treasury personnel often assesses whether acquisitions call for more thorough examinations, frequently skipping full-blown reviews.
According to a 2018 legislative change to the CFIUS regulations, the organization can look into modest minority shares in important sectors, such as sensitive personal data stored by corporations, in addition to foreign ownership.
