Judge: Elon Musk engaged in intimidation, clears ex-official's name
Businessman Elon Musk has been found to have engaged in "state sanctioned intimidation" against former FEMA CFO Mary Comans. A judge has now cleared Comans' name.
A federal magistrate judge in Virginia has ruled that Elon Musk engaged in "state sanctioned intimidation" against Mary Comans, the former Chief Financial Officer of FEMA. Musk had posted false accusations on X in February 2025 alleging Comans diverted millions of dollars to house undocumented immigrants in New York hotels.
Musk, who was heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) within the Trump administration at the time, shared his posts on February 11, 2025. The Department of Homeland Security announced the next day that it was firing Comans and three colleagues, labeling them "deep state activists."
In the order, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick stated that "high-ranking government officials," including Musk, had engaged in a "coordinated public relations campaign" to impugn Comans' personal and professional integrity. Fitzpatrick described how Musk posted a picture of Comans to his "millions of followers" while "falsely characterizing her government service as a 'criminal action,'" an act Fitzpatrick called "little more than state sanctioned intimidation."
Comans served as FEMA CFO from January 2018 to February 2025. The Democracy Defenders Fund, involved in Comans' case, expressed satisfaction with the decision, stating that "career public servants" should not have their names destroyed for political gain.