What an utter piece of shit.
Are you referring to the coordinators or the person who knew about it but let it happen so he could go back and finish daddy’s war?
Is this not treason? Like legitimately, technically.
It may be a violation of the Logan Act, which makes it illegal for private citizens to interfere with foreign relations.
The Logan Act deals with private citizens negotiating with foreign governments. Unless he fucked with Starlink at the direct request of the Russian gov’t, I don’t see how the Logan Act applies. EDIT: apparently he did it after speaking with Russian government officials. So never mind, Logan Act is absolutely implicated.
*Foreign governments having a dispute with the United States. I don’t think this qualifies. Unfortunately.
Against Ukraine certainly, but since he’s not a citizen of Ukraine, then no. If these were US forces that he sabotaged, or the US was actually fighting in the war then it would also qualify, but once again that doesn’t apply. It definitely runs counter to US foreign interests, but that’s not enough to qualify (and probably good it doesn’t, a LOT of stuff people regularly do it could be argued would run counter to US foreign interests).
He did this with federal funds. And the US hasn’t declared war since, what, WW2? The Rosenbergs were executed for treason, and we never declared war with USSR.
The Rosenbergs were convicted on espionage charges. They were sending classified info to the USSR. That’s different from treason although it’s related. The funding angle is an interesting question though. It still wouldn’t be treason, but it could qualify as… breach of contract maybe? Not sure exactly what the charge is when the government pays you for a service and you don’t fullfill the service in a satisfactory manner.
He did this with federal funds
Apparently this was before he got federal funds.
Uh… People from Vietnam, Korea, and Afganistan would like to differ. (not an exclusive list).
This has nothing to do with being Ukrainian, but everything to do with being American, and actively working against American interests and official national and White house policies.
He is actively working against the support USA is providing, and has paid him for, and has ordered him not to sabotage or diminish.
This is treason, which is logical, since Elon Musk is a Trump supporter and they are both traitors and Elon Musk is a pedophile Nazi.
While I think we can all agree that it’s treasonous or at least treason adjacent, it however does not meet the specific legal definition of Treason used by the US. Like most of the rich and powerful he’s threading legal loopholes to do what he wants without actually violating the letter of any laws while simultaneously stomping all over the spirit of them. There’s a strong argument to be made that he is committing sabotage against Ukraine, but once again that’s not technically illegal in the US. I don’t even think Ukraine has an extradition treaty with the US, so even if Musk was charged and convicted in Ukraine, there isn’t really anything they could do about it.
At the end of the day, Ukraine fucked up by trusting and relying on a private contractor for their critical infrastructure. They were in a bind and needed a solution so they leapt at the first one that was dangled in front of them, but it was a hasty decision that has bitten them in the long run. For better or worse there’s a reason that no nation relies on infrastructure they don’t control for military support, and it’s exactly this situation. Even if the hardware was manufactured by a contractor, they would make sure their country was the ones in control of it. Starlink should have been at best an emergency stopgap while Ukraine found another long term solution specifically because it puts their military at the mercy of the whims of a foreign national (not to mention the operational security nightmare where now they have a private US corporation able to literally watch and track their military movements in real time).
Elon Musk is a pedophile Nazi.
While I think Musk is a slimy piece of shit that’s made a career out of stealing credit for other peoples ideas, this might be going too far.
Treason is very narrowly defined in US law. The US is not at war with Russia, and the US is not Ukraine, so no, it’s not.
Again. The US government is not the Ukrainian government.
The most painful thing the government could do would be to sanction Musk and his companies for taking actions counter to US foreign policy prerogatives, but then Musk would just pull the plug on Starlink altogether. So nothing will be done.
Also no. Americans do not legally owe any loyalty to the Ukrainian government.
Nope, he wasn’t trying to overthrow the government of country he is a citizen of. He could be considered a non state actor though.
It’s cute how if Ukraine fights back that risks nuclear war, but when Russia invades a sovereign country it doesn’t
I’ll probably get downvoted to hell but America’s done that for hot minute now and also evades any real criticism from the West. And yes, Russia bad and invasion bad, no question but if we’re keeping score…
In what conflict were people criticized for fighting back against the US because it could cause a nuclear war?
More referring to the invading of countries without criticism, long ass history of doing that in the name of “freedom”
Not anymore. They gave them to Russia under guarantees they wouldt do… pretty much everything they are doing right now.
I’m starting to think Russia might not be trustworthy…
Too bad so sad! Should have been smart like Kim Jong. Keep some nukes and you don’t get invaded.
I think he addressed it clearly enough. Russia invading Ukraine has no risk of Ukraine starting a nuclear war. Why? Because Ukraine does not have nukes.
A country like Russia, if facing an existential threat, has the capacity and incentive to use nuclear weapons. Why? Because they have nukes.
This is why even the US had hesitations last year (same time this Starlink episode happened) about sending certain types of weapons to Ukraine - out of fear of nuclear escalation. Now that Ukraine has drone striked Russian territory a few times it seems obvious because nuclear escalation hasn’t happened… but Musk was not alone in thinking this. Remember that US refused to give all sorts of weaponry at first. They didn’t want to give fighters jets, tanks, etc.
Hang on… That’s sabotage. Straight up. That’s a criminal offence no?
Yeah. According to the article, he straight up told the top military brass of the Biden administration right afterwards and they did nothing. No prosecution, no whistle-blowing to the press about a war crime. Nothing.
So if you’re not an American you’re free to sabotage the US as much as you want and it’s not a crime?
So if you’re not an American you’re free to sabotage the US as much as you want and it’s not a crime?
Two points.
First, US laws apply on US soil, or to US citizens. If you’re neither, then cooperation and extradition agreements apply, if there are any.
Second, not sure where you got the “sabotage the US” part from:
- the request came from Ukraine
- from the beginning, Musk has been sabotaging Russia by disabling Starlink outside of Ukrainian borders, this was supported by both Ukraine and the US
- the Ukrainian request was for removing part of the sabotage so Ukraine could attack Russia with Ukrainian drones
- it wasn’t a US request, it didn’t involve any US assets, or any US operations
Maybe Ukraine should have asked the US, instead of asking a private non-Ukrainian citizen.
Yeah but it’s not called treason, treason is to your own country, ofc this is still an illegal offense in Ukraine but I don’t think it’s treason?
If he loves Russia so much, we should deport him there, and nationalize all his assets since SpaceX is a critical security apparatus and he’s clearly the foreign agent of a hostile power.
No no, give him to Ukrain, where they can charge and try him. Hopefully end up with life in prison or something better (worse?). Giving him to Russia just makes him more of a Russian asset.
Or OR we ask him to emerge from the Black Sea in his swim trunks to beguile both sides with his majestic beauty and raw sexuality, thereby ending the conflict and bringing peace to the region
Of value or not, he needs to be trotted out in front of Ukrainian justice. Giving him a free pass to live with his Russian buddies is NOT justice and is not a deterrent for others who would also practice such treachery. Stop trying to save him, you Russian sympathizer.
