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Calls to protect Elon Musk are growing after Hillary Clinton urged Congress to question him even if President Donald Trump grants him a pardon, arguing that a pardon would remove Musk's ability to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
Clinton made the call during an appearance on ABC's The View on Monday, where she said a new Congress should begin holding powerful individuals to account from January. "People like Elon Musk, we need a government, starting in January with a new Congress, to begin to hold these people accountable," she said. She said certain individuals cannot "get away with manipulating the data to try to influence decisions."
Clinton was speaking about Musk's role in American elections. Reports put his donations at around $290 million to Republican candidates and causes during the 2024 federal election, and about $470 million during the current midterm cycle. Her call was for Congress to examine his activities. It is not a formal investigation, and no finding of wrongdoing has been made against him.
Trump, for his part, has said he would protect Musk if Democrats use a new Congress to go after him. In an interview on the New York Post's Pod Force One podcast with Miranda Devine, released on Monday, Trump was asked about reports that Democrats could investigate Musk and seek to seize his assets. "We'll have to protect them," he said. Asked whether he would issue pre-emptive pardons for Musk and his aides, he said: "I would if I needed to, sure. I would not even think about it. I'd do it, I did it for J6," referring to the pardons he issued on his first day in office for people convicted over the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The question at the centre of the debate is what a pardon would actually do. A pardon would shield Musk from federal prosecution, but it would not stop Congress from investigating him — and, as Reuters' Brad Heath has noted, a pardon could make it harder for Musk and other witnesses to assert their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. That is the basis for Clinton's argument that lawmakers should bring Musk before Congress and hear what he has to say.
Democrats have already signalled that Musk would be a focus if they take control of Congress. Politico reported last month that Musk had "emerged as a man of intense interest to several potential committee chairs," with possible lines of inquiry including how the Department of Government Efficiency operated, Musk's actions regarding Starlink and Ukraine, the federal contracts held by his companies, and possible conflicts of interest. A spokesperson for Representative Robert Garcia, a senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told Politico: "We definitely have a lot of questions about Elon Musk's role in DOGE, and it is something we plan to investigate."
Musk himself warned Democrats last month against coming after him. On October 21, he wrote on X: "Live by the sword, die by the sword," replying to a post about Politico's report on the planned probes.
The debate has also raised questions about whether the same standards are being applied to other high-profile figures, including Dr. Anthony Fauci — who himself received a pre-emptive pardon from former President Joe Biden, along with former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley and members of the January 6 committee.
Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, and the new Congress takes its seats in January. The question now is whether Musk becomes a major target of congressional scrutiny — and whether he would be required to testify if Congress calls him in, even with a presidential pardon.