23 hours ago
Last Updated:April 02, 2025, 14:17 IST
Musk made the accusation while responding to a post on X, which detailed the efforts made by DOGE and law enforcement agencies to uncover fraud at the think tank
A stop sign outside the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC. (AFP file photo)
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), on Wednesday accused the US Institute of Peace (USIP) of deleting a “terabyte of financial data" in an attempt to cover up their alleged crimes.
Musk made the accusation while responding to a post detailing the efforts made by DOGE and law enforcement agencies to uncover fraud at the think tank. The USIP is a government-funded organisation focused on preventing and resolving global conflicts.
Musk claimed that despite USIP’s attempt to erase crucial data, DOGE had successfully recovered the information. DOGE is an initiative formed during Donald Trump’s second term, aimed at reducing public sector spending.
“They deleted a terabyte of financial data to cover their crimes, but they don’t understand technology, so we recovered it," Musk said on X.
They deleted a terabyte of financial data to cover their crimes, but they don’t understand technology, so we recovered it 🙄— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2025
The post that Musk responded to outlined how DOGE, with assistance from the FBI and Metro Police, fought for days to access the US Institute of Peace’s records.
“The DOGE team fought for days to gain access to the United States Institute of Peace. Eventually, with help from the FBI and Metro Police DOGE was able to access the agency and discovered massive fraud, waste and abuse-including payments to Taliban and Iraq," the post read.
DOGE: The DOGE team fought for days to gain access to the United States Institute of Peace. Eventually, with help from the FBI and Metro Police DOGE was able to access the agency and discovered massive fraud, waste and abuse-including payments to Taliban and Iraq. pic.twitter.com/VymOebovfY— @amuse (@amuse) March 31, 2025
Reposting the user’s post with a comment, Musk also took the opportunity to mock the USIP, saying, “Any government institution is most likely to be the opposite of its name."
The US Institute of Peace was established during former US President Ronald Reagan’s administration. According to a description on usa.gov, the USIP “promotes research, policy analysis, education, and training on international peace and conflict resolution in an effort to prevent and resolve violent conflicts, and to promote post-conflict stability." However, its official website has since been taken down.
In February, US President Donald Trump had signed an executive order aimed at reducing the size of the Federal Government, including actions against the US Institute of Peace, which is now under DOGE’s purview. The order had stated the goal of increasing accountability within government institutions.
George Foote, who served as counsel to the USIP till he was dismissed by DOGE, is now involved in legal proceedings seeking to prevent the dismissal of top officials at the institute. Foote is challenging the legality of DOGE’s actions in court.
(With inputs from agencies)
Location :Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:April 02, 2025, 14:06 IST
News world Elon Musk Claims US Institute Of Peace Deleted 'Terabyte' Of Data To 'Cover Their Crimes'
