Grift graft, we’re taking a bath

Countries eager to get relief from Trump’s tariffs are cutting deals with Musk’s Starlink. Coincidence?

By Sam Bellamy

Rising prices and frequent hits to our retirement savings seem like a fair tradeoff to help the world’s richest man get richer, don’t you think?

That’s exactly what appears to be happening behind the front lines of Donald Trump’s tariff war with the world, according to a recent letter to the president from 13 Democratic senators.

The senators asked the president for an investigation of Elon Musk’s activities following news that he’s made sudden breakthroughs in long-stalled talks with the leaders of at least five countries to grant licenses to his Starlink internet service. In two cases, he struck deals with leaders shortly after he held meetings with them on White House grounds.

“Musk is reportedly taking advantage of his government role to coerce concessions from foreign governments for his own benefit, including unfettered market access as well as contracts with his companies, in exchange for favorable treatment by the U.S. government,” the senators wrote.

And what’s the nature of that favorable treatment from our government? Potential relief from Trump’s tariffs, of course.

It’s a shakedown, in other words. Quid pro quo, to use little Latin that Trump was forced to learn in his first term.

“Public servants must serve Americans, not their own bank accounts,” the senators wrote. “These alleged actions are an egregious breach of public trust, degrade our credibility with allies and partners, and potentially violate U.S. laws.”

Granted, such breaches of trust are just part of another ho-hum day at the Trump White House, where crypto scams, lucrative real estate deals in foreign countries and other forms of self-dealing are the moral and legal equivalent of walking out of the office with a few pens in your pocket or purse.

But bravo to the senators – particularly Virginia’s Mark Warner, who’s been especially vocal – for drawing more attention to the matter. (In the link below, he discusses the situation with Jim Acosta at the 16-minute mark.)

Warner, whose language can be as blue as his politics, doesn’t mince words. He shouldn’t.

In recent weeks, officials in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Lesotho (mocked by Trump in his State of the Union “as a country nobody has ever heard of”) and Vietnam have all dropped their opposition to Musk establishing Starlink service in their countries. It is, as Warner recently posted on Facebook, “really, really suspicious.”

In their letter, the senators called attention to troubling meetings Musk held separately at the Blair House, the guest residence next to the White House, with Mohammad Yunus, the leader of the interim Bangladeshi government, and with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the video, Warner tells Musk that also had a meeting with a Bangladeshi trade representative in the White House.

The meetings were extraordinary because Musk is the putative head of the Department of Government Efficiency, with no role whatsoever in foreign policy.

After Musk’s meeting with Yunus, an official with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission told The Washington Post that the panel made “the swiftest recommendation” it had ever made to grant a license. Musk got his deal.

Similarly, the approval of a Starlink license in India became a “central agenda item” after Musk’s meeting with Modi, officials there told The Post. Shortly afterward, two telecommunications companies in India signed deals with Starlink.

These sudden breakthroughs in negotiations seem to be making an impression on other countries.

Musk, for instance, has been lobbying on X and elsewhere to get the South African government to lift a ban on Starlink in his native country, where substantial local ownership is necessary to secure a license. A lawmaker there recently introduced a bill to help Musk skirt the exemption.

The Post reported that “the story about Bangladesh was making its way around political and business circles in South Africa” and the widespread assumption is that “approval of a license for Starlink was a prerequisite for getting a favorable trade deal.”

In a new report Wednesday, The Post detailed memos from the State Department pushing foreign nations to clear the way for Starlink to operate. Although no offer of help on tariffs was made, it was quite clear the Trump administration expected Musk to get what he wanted.

“As the government of Lesotho negotiates a trade deal with the United States, it hopes that licensing Starlink demonstrates goodwill and intent to welcome U.S. businesses,” an internal State Department memo said, according to The Post.

Trump was asked by reporters back in February about Musk’s meeting with the Indian prime minister. Here’s an account of that exchange, courtesy of The New Republic:

“When Elon Musk met with Prime Minister Modi earlier today, did he do so as an American CEO or did he do so as a representative of the U.S. government?” a reporter asked.

“Uhh, are you talking about me?” Trump replied.

“No, Elon Musk.”

“Well, Elon—I don’t know. They met, and I assume he wants to do business in India, but India’s a very hard place to do business in because of the tariffs. … No, I would imagine he met possibly because he’s running a company,” Trump replied.

“How does Modi know if he’s meeting with a CEO or meeting with a representative of your government?” a reporter then asked.

“Well, he’s meeting with me in a little while, so I’m gonna ask him that question,” Trump said.

As far as I know, we’re still awaiting that answer.

At first glance, there’s not much value in Democrats sending yet another strongly worded letter about corruption in the Trump administration.

Our stable genius seems about as likely to investigate Musk as he is to start training for the marathon or to apologize to E. Jean Carroll for sexually assaulting her. And Attorney General Pam Bondi, doubling as his personal attorney, certainly won’t name a special counsel to get to the bottom of this.

But let’s remember Trump has a talent for obstructing justice in magnificently blundering ways. Granted, he’s not been held accountable for it yet, but let’s watch. Darwin’s Law grants no exemption for stupidity, even when it’s backed by immense power.

I’d argue, once more, that all of this looks like grounds for impeachment, pending an investigation, but there appears to be zero appetite for that idea among Democratic lawmakers or many Democratic voters until there’s a near-certain chance of winning.

This strikes me as sort of like Churchill watching the Nazi invasion of one country after another in Europe and concluding, “Fine. But let’s see if they intend to stay. Maybe we’ll feel differently by this time next year.”

Even so, there’s something we all can do. We can request all lawmakers – Republicans, too – to demand a congressional investigation of Musk’s activities and, as Acosta implies, call on the media to focus more attention on Starlink deals.

Stupidity can’t escape its day in the court of Darwin’s Law – “Uhh, are you talking about me?” – but it sure would be nice if we could accelerate that day of reckoning.