Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R‑Iowa, announced the release of a new set of unclassified emails exchanged among FBI agents during the 2016‑17 Operation Crossfire Hurricane investigation. The documents, obtained through the committee’s oversight authority, show former Special Agent Kevin Gounaud attempting to launch a criminal probe into Elon Musk for allegedly using his private social‑media platform for official government communication.
Emails reveal attempt to investigate Musk
According to the released correspondence, Gounaud sent an email in February 2025 requesting that the bureau open a criminal investigation of Musk, who at the time was serving as a special government employee overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Gounaud argued that Musk’s use of X (formerly Twitter) to ask federal employees to report five daily tasks constituted official business conducted on a monetized, private platform, potentially generating personal income for Musk.
Gounaud likened Musk’s conduct to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, stating, “His use of Twitter in this and other instances is conceptually similar to Hillary Clinton’s misuse of a private email server for government business.” The email chain also notes that Musk’s plan was announced publicly on X, prompting the agent’s concern.
Grassley calls out Deep State interference
Chairman Grassley framed the release as evidence of a coordinated effort by the so‑called Deep State to undermine President Trump. “The previous Democrat administrations under Obama and Biden conducted secret, insidious and downright evil operations that almost took down our government,” Grassley said during an oversight hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel. “That’s arguably worse than Watergate.” He added that the current administration’s transparency allows the public to judge these actions.
Grassley also highlighted other FBI agents featured in the document dump. Walter Giardina, who was dismissed by Director Patel in August over allegations of political weaponization, sent at least seven emails between January 2017 and February 2017 requesting assignment to Crossfire Hurricane. Timothy Thibault, another former agent, was cited in emails concerning a Hatch Act violation claim that was later dismissed by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
Context of the document release
The Senate Judiciary Committee has, over the past decade, released multiple batches of documents from FBI operations such as Operation Arctic Frost and Round River. Grassley argues these releases demonstrate a pattern of the Justice Department being weaponized against President Trump and Republican officials.
In a post on X, Grassley shared one of the newly released emails, writing, “Here is an email I released today showing an FBI agent who was ready to open a criminal case all because Elon Musk asked government bureaucrats to report five things they did in a week.” He contrasted the alleged bureaucratic overreach with the work ethic of Iowans, stating, “Compare that to Iowans who work from sunup to sundown every day; Washington really is an island surrounded by reality.”
Responses and next steps
Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI for comment; no response was provided at the time of publication. The committee’s release does not indicate any immediate legal action against Musk, but it adds to ongoing scrutiny of how private technology platforms intersect with government operations.
Grassley concluded the hearing by emphasizing that the evidence shows a sustained effort by career bureaucrats to target President Trump, noting, “At least he’s upfront and open so people can judge.” The chairman indicated that the committee will continue to monitor and publicize any further evidence of political weaponization within federal agencies.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
