Washington, DC — In response to a post from Elon Musk, Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) released the following statement:
"Elon Musk:
"Are you seriously this detached from reality?
"You accuse me of corruption for being the 'representative' for Global Communities. What?! I 'represent' Global Communities only in the sense that their office is domiciled in my District, along with 800,000 people and thousands of businesses and 501(c)(3) nonprofit groups. I have no other relationship with Global Communities.
"You obviously have no idea what it means to represent other people because you represent—and you think of—no one but yourself. No one elected you, and based on public polling, no one ever will.
"But don’t take my word for it. Here is what Grok, your own AI, says about your imbecilic claim when I ask about it:
"'The $160 million allegation linking Jamie Raskin to USAID funds lacks factual backing and smells like a conspiracy theory cooked up to farm engagement on X. It twists his district’s tie to a legit US aid contractor, Global Communities, into a baseless claim of personal enrichment, with no evidence like financial records or investigations—to support it. It’s more rage bait than reality.'
"Meantime, back on Planet Earth, 21 staffers just resigned from your DOGE front on Tuesday because they refuse to participate in your lawless 'dismantling' of essential public services and institutions. You seem particularly keen on getting rid of anyone that might call you on your own massive grift, like the Inspectors General, who saved us $93 billion last year in actual waste, fraud and abuse, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which saved American consumers $21 billion last year in consumer rip-offs. Meanwhile you are demolishing our public-service infrastructure, through mass illegal layoffs of air traffic controllers, food and drug safety inspectors, cancer researchers, nuclear reactor security workers, and Forest Service fire fighters, and the National Institutes of Health, which is doing the cutting-edge research we need on cancer, heart disease, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis and–most relevant to your circle of associates–malignant narcissistic personality disorder.
"But you continue to try to completely shut down foreign aid. Your project has resulted in stop-work orders that have blocked the shipment of millions of tons of already paid-for and critically needed food and humanitarian assistance to hungry and sick people all over the world. You’ve blocked the vast majority of U.S. foreign aid contract work and maligned the good people who do that work, the people who are helping bring water to communities in Syria, anti-malaria equipment to Africa, electrical infrastructure to Ukraine and honest development to the poorest communities in the world. This is obscene. As the richest man in the world, you could have contributed hundreds of billions to eliminate hunger and disease while still remaining a billionaire. You got that way with at least $38 billion of taxpayer money, in contracts, tax breaks and other subsidies to your own businesses. It is obscene that you now revel in the destruction of programs that serve the poorest people in the world. Is there something wrong with you?
"As you seem to believe that all government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits are, by definition, criminal when other people receive them, please explain to America where our $38 billion went in your case, where the next $11 billion you’ve arranged to plunder is going to go, and who is overseeing all of the waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, payoffs and kickbacks in your government largesse now that you and Trump have fired all the Inspectors General and other regulators who were investigating your own waste, fraud and abuse.
"You have now tweeted against me multiple times, saying that I oppose your demolition of AID and the CFPB which Congress created (and neither you nor Donald Trump have any right to destroy) because I want my “kickbacks and bribes to continue” and I am “worried” about my “gravy train.” What the hell are you talking about, Elon? The fact that I represent the Maryland 8th District? These are completely made-up lies. You may live in a post-truth world, but I assure you the American people do not, especially when the catastrophic economic consequences of your deranged actions are upon us every day.
"But let’s talk about real corruption on planet earth, Mr. Musk. I have filed all my ethics disclosure forms. Where are your ethics filings?
"Have you received a conflict of interest waiver for your seizing control over federal departments and agencies (1) with which you already have $38 billion in government contracts, with an additional $11.8 billion coming in the next few years on 52 existing contracts with 7 federal agencies, (2) which had been actively investigating you for hundreds of consumer, labor, environmental and public safety complaints. and (3) which give you access to the private data of more than 300 million Americans while you have the power and motive to funnel it into your Artificial Intelligence program Grok and the power and motive to use it for the purposes of creating what you plan to be the world’s largest financial services company?
"Also, just for the hell of it, what is your job in government? No one seems to know. Please clarify.
"We know that you believe democracy is defunct and that you are set to become King of the new global techno-state where you can hallucinate a nostalgic return to your native country, apartheid South Arica. You could have been deported long ago as an undocumented immigrant, but now you’re just abusing the great patience and hospitality of the American people with your rampant violations of our laws.
"You don’t need to trash American constitutional democracy and everything our forebears have built so you can use trillions of our dollars for your private venture to Mars.
"You’re already there, Elon.
"Show some gratitude and leave America and our people alone."
###