Summary
A group of Silicon Valley U.S. House Democrats on Friday demanded the White House investigate recent interruptions of Elon Musk's Starlink internet se…
The letter, shared exclusively with CNBC and led by California Democratic Reps. Sam Liccardo, Ro Khanna and Jimmy Panetta, comes after Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink, was restricted in Ukraine for a period of time, limiting the besieged country's military capabilities.
Ukrainian officials told CNN on Friday that restrictions remained in place, despite President Donald Trump's claim Thursday that Musk had restored access. The officials said the restrictions were disrupting high-speed military drones, hampering Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian attacks and conduct operations along the front line.
The lawmakers in their letter to Wiles demanded an "immediate, government-wide investigation into the decision to restrict SpaceX's Starshield satellite-based intelligence and military support services in Ukraine." The letter indicates Democrats will make investigating the Starlink interruption a top priority if they win the House in the Nov. 3 midterm election.
"We will ensure that the 120th Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Mr. Musk's businesses, including whether these companies meet their contractual obligations, and whether adequate safeguards exist against political interference, arbitrary service restrictions, and misuse of federal resources," the lawmakers wrote.
Asked about the letter Friday, the White House referred CNBC to Trump's comments a day earlier. Trump declined Thursday to say whether he had called Musk about the restrictions, telling reporters, "Whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn't make any difference." He added, "The bottom line, he put it back," referring to Musk and the Starshield service.
SpaceX did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Democrats are widely expected to investigate private businesses that contract with the government if they win control of Congress, which would grant them subpoena power at the committee level.
At the core of the lawmakers' questions is who ordered the throttling of Ukrainian Starshield and whether the direction came from President Donald Trump or Musk, a private citizen.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Musk ordered the restrictions, and the news outlet subsequently reported they were lifted after a phone call between Trump and Musk. Ukrainian forces rely on Starshield to conduct military operations amid a Russian invasion that began over four years ago. Trump has repeatedly denied ordering the disruption of Starlink, despite Musk's public assertions that the order would have come from the White House.
"Despite the resulting loss of human life, and the serious national security implications, neither the Administration nor SpaceX has provided a clear and consistent explanation of responsibility," the lawmakers wrote in the letter. "Either a private contractor independently made life-and-death national security decisions, or President Trump directed the restriction of critical military communications supporting a U.S. ally."
The lawmakers asked Wiles who was behind the decision to restrict Starshield service and to identify any individuals "who authorized, directed, approved, or [were] consulted about the restrictions." The lawmakers also asked how the restrictions were implemented, whether they violated federal contracts and whether similar vulnerabilities exist elsewhere.
"As Silicon Valley's elected members in Congress, we represent hundreds of innovation economy employers and workers whose livelihoods depend on the credibility of American technology abroad," the lawmakers wrote. "Politically motivated service interruptions or erratic throttling will undermine reputations developed through decades of work that Americans have led to support our allies and customers throughout the world."
— Luke Fountain contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC Tech
