President Donald Trump personally stopped Elon Musk from attending a top-secret briefing on China, Axios reported Wednesday.
The report follows news Tuesday that two top Pentagon staffers were put on leave amid an investigation into unauthorized disclosure of department information.
Axios reported that the officials, Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick, were part of a probe into who leaked word of a planned top-secret briefing on China for Musk – something that angered Trump when he found out about it.
"What the f**k is Elon doing there? Make sure he doesn't go," Trump said, a top official told Axios.
The official added that Trump's reaction did not indicate the president had a personal issue with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO.
"POTUS still very much loves Elon, but there are some red lines," the official told the outlet. "Elon has a lot of business in China and he has good relations there, and this briefing just wasn't the right thing."
Newsmax reached out to the White House for comment on the Axios report.
"President Trump has a great relationship with Elon Musk, and they are fully aligned in their efforts to Make America Great Again," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Newsmax in an email.
Musk heads Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, but the president has insisted he won't allow conflicts of interest with the billionaire.
It was reported late last month that Musk was due to visit the Pentagon on March 21 and be briefed on the U.S. military's plan for any war that might break out with China.
Trump and senior administration members then strongly denied that Musk would be briefed about a plan for a potential war with China.
"The Fake News is the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE…And Elon is NOT BEING BRIEFED ON ANYTHING CHINA BY THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR!!!" Trump posted on March 21.
Musk attended the meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth but China wasn't discussed.
"Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "But it was such a fake story."
"I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. They will be found," Musk wrote on X before the Hegseth meeting.
Newsmax Pentagon reporter Mike Carter confirmed that Caldwell was escorted out of the Pentagon by security on Tuesday. Politico reported that Selnick also was placed on leave.
Politico reported the administration's leak investigation also includes Panama Canal military plans, Red Sea operations, and intelligence collection in Ukraine.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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