In one week, Ukraine’s drones lost satellite speed in the middle of a Russian missile campaign, President Trump waived the Russia sanctions he signed last month, and a Kremlin envoy called that waiver “truly historic.” Elon Musk’s company runs the satellites. Musk is also the biggest donor of the midterms. A lot of people are connecting those dots and landing on words like “traitor.”
Here’s what’s actually documented, what’s alleged and what hasn’t been shown. The documented part is serious enough on its own.
What happened to Starlink in Ukraine?
On Oct. 14, without warning, Ukraine’s military terminals on Starshield, the government version of Starlink, were capped at about 100 mph (160 km/h). That’s too slow for the drones Ukraine uses to intercept Russian Shahed drones and to strike targets. Russian missiles hit Kyiv on back-to-back nights, killing at least nine people. Zelenskyy called it “a big mistake” that “will bring a lot of human losses,” Al Jazeera reported.
Who did it is the fight. Musk wrote on X that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” Reuters, citing U.S. and Western officials, reported that the order came from inside the White House, though not who gave it, the Kyiv Independent reported. A senior official denied it came from Trump, and Trump said, “I didn’t do that.” Then The Telegraph, citing four unnamed sources, reported that Musk himself pitched speed limits to Trump and Trump “agreed,” per Yahoo News. Musk denies being responsible. As of Saturday, Zelenskyy says service still isn’t fully back.
Two things aren’t in dispute. Musk had posted on X that “Zelensky has gone too far” with strikes on Russian fuel facilities. And Trump this week called Zelenskyy “not a good guy” to deal with and said he’s “not a big fan.”
Is Trump siding with Russia over Ukraine?
On policy, this week moved in Russia’s direction. Trump waived a sanctions law that passed the Senate 86-11, two days before it took effect, and gave no public reason beyond “the national interest.” A week earlier, he announced a deal for Russian diesel to ease fuel prices. Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev cheered. We covered the sanctions waiver in detail here.
But “all the Republicans are supporting Russia” isn’t right. Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn and Rep. Don Bacon, all Republicans, publicly slammed the waiver. Cornyn said, “Lindsey would be appalled.” The split is between Trump and a good part of his own party.
How much has Elon Musk spent on the midterms?
At least $276 million since July, and about $366 million this election cycle, Reuters reported, based on New York Times reporting that a spokesman for Musk’s America PAC confirmed. The biggest checks went to the Senate Leadership Fund ($158 million), his own America PAC ($76 million) and the Congressional Leadership Fund ($20 million). That likely makes him the single biggest donor this year.
It’s legal. Since Citizens United, billionaires can give unlimited sums to super PACs, and these gifts are disclosed. There’s no evidence Musk is rigging votes or planning to. The honest complaint is a different one. One man with billions in government contracts, including the satellites at the center of a war, is also the top funder of the party that oversees those contracts.
Did Russian money pay for Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding?
Part of the celebration, yes. ProPublica reported last month that Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman close to Putin who heads the International Boxing Association, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for parties after Trump Jr.’s May wedding to Bettina Anderson, including renting a private island in the Bahamas and fireworks, ABC News reported. Anderson confirmed “our dear friend Umar very generously hosted” two nights of celebrations. Trump called it “Not a big deal!” and later said he understood his son paid Kremlev back.
What does Ashley St. Clair say about Musk?
St. Clair isn’t Musk’s ex-wife. She’s the mother of one of his sons. In Alex Gibney’s new documentary “Musk,” she says he offered $15 million plus $100,000 a month in exchange for her silence, cut it to $40,000 when she refused and then to $20,000 after she went public about the baby, Entertainment Weekly reported. Musk has called the film a “hit piece.” It’s her account, and it hasn’t been tested in court.
Does Russia have something on Trump or Musk?
There’s no public evidence of it. Trump calls the Russia investigation a hoax. The record is more complicated: special counsel Robert Mueller didn’t establish a criminal conspiracy, but a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report found Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman shared polling data with a Russian intelligence officer. We laid out what’s proven and what isn’t. Nothing public shows Musk is compromised by Russia, and no one has charged him with anything. “Traitor” is a legal word that requires a lot more than bad judgment.
The BeezLoop Take
The facts here are bad enough without stretching them. A U.S. ally lost key battlefield tech in the middle of an air campaign, the order came from inside the White House according to Reuters, and nobody will say who gave it. The same week, the president waived sanctions his own party passed and got a thank-you from the Kremlin. The richest man in the world, who owns the satellites, is bankrolling the midterms.
That calls for answers, not slogans. Saying Musk is a traitor or the election is being stolen goes past the evidence, and it lets the White House dodge the questions it actually can’t answer. Who ordered the throttle? Why waive the sanctions? What does Musk get from either?
The open question: who in the White House ordered Starlink slowed for Ukraine’s military, and will Congress make them testify?
Also on BeezLoop: Tesla’s new Roadster reveal, and Trump saying it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.
Sources: Al Jazeera · Kyiv Independent, citing Reuters · The Telegraph, via Yahoo News · Reuters, via Yahoo News · ABC News · Entertainment Weekly, via Yahoo · CNN (video)
