Senator Adam Schiff is demanding that Elon Musk testify under oath before Congress after explosive reporting linked the billionaire SpaceX chief to restrictions on satellite communications used by Ukrainian forces fighting Russia.
And Schiff says the conflicting explanations from Musk and Donald Trump raise a question that cannot be ignored.
“Either the President was lying or Musk was lying,” the California Democrat declared.
The controversy erupted after The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had ordered a slowdown of SpaceX’s military-grade satellite service used by Ukraine. CBS News separately confirmed, citing people familiar with the matter, that a decision by Musk led to restrictions on the network.
The consequences were felt on the battlefield.
Ukrainian military personnel reported sudden connection problems that disrupted drone operations, including missions designed to intercept Russian attacks. The restrictions limited how fast certain drones could travel while maintaining satellite connectivity, undermining Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.
For Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, this was no ordinary technical dispute.
Schiff responded with a blistering public statement:
Either the President was lying or Musk was lying, but the decision to slow down satellite speed and access has life or death consequences for Ukraine. This deserves a full investigation by the Senate. Elon Musk should be compelled to testify before Congress and under oath.
In a second post, he added:
National security decisions should be made in our national security interests, and not based on the personal whim of an unstable executive.
The demand followed a series of contradictory accounts about who controlled the restrictions.
Trump previously told reporters that he did not believe either he or Musk was responsible for the slowdown.
“Well, I don’t know if it was anybody, because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” the president said.
Musk, meanwhile, had publicly suggested that the U.S. government controlled such decisions, writing that limits on speed or usage were ultimately determined by the military and the president.
But the Journal reported that Musk had personally authorized the restrictions and that he and Trump discussed the matter after the slowdown became public. One source also said they had discussed it beforehand.
Those accounts have not all been independently established, and the precise sequence of decisions remains disputed.
The confusion deepened Wednesday when Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was not aware that the administration had advance knowledge of the decision.
Rubio maintained that the terms governing the service were a commercial matter for SpaceX, rather than a restriction ordered by the White House.
That leaves an extraordinary question hanging over Washington: How could a communications system so critical to Ukraine’s defense be restricted without a clear public explanation of who made the decision?
The political pressure is also crossing party lines. Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick has supported putting witnesses under oath to investigate the disruption, while other lawmakers have demanded answers from the Pentagon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that restrictions on the service have interfered with the country’s ability to counter Russian drone attacks.
Schiff’s demand now places Musk, Trump and the administration’s conflicting explanations under a new spotlight.
No congressional testimony has yet established who authorized the restrictions or whether anyone knowingly misled the public.
But with Ukrainian lives potentially at stake, Schiff is arguing that social media statements and competing denials are no longer enough.
He wants the people involved answering questions under oath.
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This needs to be fully investigated. I freely concede I don’t trust the current President, and never have.. I never will. I believe he is a fraud, a first-class conman, who never expected to win. He was in it for the attention and to flatter his ego. And enough voters fell for it… It really is a sad commentary on American society.