Grassley Releases FBI Files on Trump Probe and Musk Investigation
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What happened
In February 2025, FBI Special Agent Kevin Gounaud emailed colleagues proposing a criminal investigation of Elon Musk, then a special government employee overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The proposal followed Musk’s announcement on X that federal employees would be asked to list five accomplishments from the prior week, with non-response treated as a resignation. Gounaud argued the request wasted official time, violated information-security rules, and could personally enrich Musk because he owns X. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley released the email and related FBI records on September 16, 2026, during an oversight hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel. No criminal case was opened on the basis of that proposal.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 3 articles
3 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 3 of 3
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Chuck Grassley, Kevin Gounaud and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 3 of 3
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: email, records, internal FBI documents
- Credits another outlet 0 of 3
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 3
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 15, 15:27 UTC by Daily Caller, naming its source. First document in the first report, from Daily Caller (email).
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
BLINDSPOT.
Only right-leaning outlets are covering this story
— the other side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage has not reported this story at all. Right-leaning coverage says former FBI Special Agent Kevin Gounaud emailed colleagues seeking a criminal investigation of Elon Musk over DOGE's request that federal employees list five weekly accomplishments. Daily Caller and Fox News both carry Grassley's declassification of that email at a hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel. A reader who only sees left-leaning outlets would miss that an FBI agent treated asking bureaucrats what they did last week as a potential crime.
Right-leaning coverage splits on the lead. A Deep State frame opens Fox News, which quotes Grassley calling prior operations "worse than Watergate." The Musk email opens Daily Caller, which centers Gounaud's analogy to Clinton's private server.
Was Gounaud's proposed criminal case against Musk ever opened?
Bottom line
Daily Caller printed an FBI agent's email volunteering to open a criminal case because Musk asked federal employees to list five accomplishments; left-leaning outlets have not carried that document.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Former FBI Special Agent Kevin Gounaud emailed colleagues in February 2025 seeking to open a criminal investigation of Elon Musk over DOGE emails asking federal employees to list five accomplishments.
- Gounaud wrote that he was happy to write the case opening and find a prosecutor, adding that he was not kidding.
- Gounaud argued that Musk's DOGE posts on X personally enriched him.
- Gounaud said Musk's warning that failure to respond would be taken as a resignation amounted to blackmail.
- Gounaud recommended opening a criminal matter on the OPM official who approved the employee email, alleging a conspiracy with Musk as a special government employee.
The Right View
Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Fox News, and OAN report that Grassley declassified Gounaud’s email, in which the agent offered to write a case opening, compared Musk’s use of X to Hillary Clinton’s private email server, and alleged wasted official time, information-security violations, possible enrichment via X, and coercion. They place the email in a larger Grassley document release on alleged FBI political bias, including Crossfire Hurricane records and communications involving former agents Walter Giardina and Timothy Thibault. Coverage quotes Grassley describing prior FBI operations as worse than Watergate and alleging a double standard versus Clinton-era special government employees. Outlets note prosecutors did not act on Gounaud’s recommendation.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: it rests on a named agent, a dated internal email, a Senate committee document release, and a public hearing, not on one party’s uncorroborated word. Established: Gounaud proposed a criminal inquiry into Musk over the DOGE “five things” request and related X posts; Grassley released that material; no prosecution followed. Unproven: that Musk committed a crime, or that the proposal proves a bureau-wide “Deep State” campaign—those are interpretations, not findings. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for the full released files, comment from Gounaud, the FBI, or DOJ, and independent verification of the documents.
4 sources
- FBI Agent Wanted To Investigate Elon Musk For Asking Federal Employees What They Did That Week
- FBI agent pushed to open criminal investigation into Elon Musk over DOGE
- ‘Worse than Watergate’ New FBI files detail agent’s push to join Trump probe, investigate Elon Musk
- Grassley: FBI agent sought to open criminal investigation into Elon Musk
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