“First Buddy” Elon Musk accuses Trump impeachment witness of “treason” and calls for “appropriate punishment”

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and President-elect Donald Trump’s “first buddy,” made the accusation on his social media platform

Musk, who was tapped by Trump to lead an outside government efficiency agency named after a meme, on Wednesday contradicted comments made by former National Security Council official Alexander Vindman during an appearance on MSNBC.

Vindman, who testified in 2019 that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open an investigation into then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, cited reports that Musk had been holding secret conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin since 2022. He then raised concerns that Musk, who has federal contracts through his companies SpaceX, Tesla and Starlink, may have shared “state secrets” with Putin.

“And (Putin) used the richest man in the world to do his bidding. In some cases, that probably encourages him to support Donald Trump,” Vindman told MSNBC. “This is not speculation. We see how far Elon has gone. And then use Twitter as a disinformation platform.”

In response to a snippet of Vindman’s remarks, Musk tweeted: “Vindman is on the payroll of Ukrainian oligarchs and has committed treason against the United States, for which he will pay the appropriate penalty.”

Vindman, in turn, responded to That’s the kind of reaction you’d expect from a conspiracy theorist. Which oligarch? What kind of betrayal? Let me help you with the facts: I do not and have never taken money from Ukrainian or other oligarchs.”

He added: “You, Elon, seem to think you can act with impunity and are trying to silence your critics. I won’t be intimidated.”

According to Title 18 of the United States Code, the penalty for treason – which the Constitution defines as waging war against the United States or supporting the country’s enemies – is the death penalty or a minimum of five years in prison. Anyone convicted of treason also loses the right to hold public office.

Not surprisingly, a number of political observers and journalists expressed outrage at Musk’s comments, especially since he is so closely tied to the new administration.

“Oh nothing, just a person deeply integrated into the power center of the new government calling for the execution of one of his critics,” noted Berny Belvedere, editor-in-chief of The Unpoulist, on Bluesky.

“Lies about a private citizen and a not-so-hidden threat that he would be executed,” wrote Adam Keiper, editor-in-chief of The Bulwark. “And the person doing this is the richest man in the world, a big government contractor who is new friends with the president-elect as a convicted felon. Do I have the right?”

While Musk later clarified his threat in a follow-up tweet, claiming that Vindman had “committed treason and belongs behind bars,” he still hasn’t explained how Vindman is a traitor to the U.S. or what evidence he has that the Army is retired The official is on the “payroll of the Ukrainian oligarchs”. The Independent has reached out to both Vindman and Musk for comment.

Republicans and conservative media outlets, meanwhile, have long accused Vindman of “dual loyalty,” pointing to the fact that his family fled Soviet-era Ukraine when he was three years old. After Vindman testified for the first time about Trump’s actions toward Zelensky before the House impeachment inquiry, Fox News hosts and GOP lawmakers said he had “an affinity for Ukraine” while suggesting that he was simultaneously representing Ukrainian interests while worked in the White House.

As The Intercept reported at the time, the “smear tactics” relied heavily on anti-Semitic tropes, particularly since Vindman himself is Jewish.

This also isn’t the first time Musk has questioned the loyalty of Vindman, who has been a frequent critic of both Trump and the X owner.

“Vindman is both a puppet and a puppeteer. The question is who is pulling the strings,” Musk asked himself in 2022 after Vindman commented on Musk’s purchase of Twitter.

“Musk’s tweet created, intentionally or unintentionally, the anti-Semitic impression that Jews are puppet masters who secretly exercise power over various institutions or that they are puppets of the Israeli government.” The Jerusalem Post observed at that time.