{"id":133921,"date":"2025-03-14T22:54:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T22:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/watchdog-urges-probe-into-faas-improper-starlink-deals\/"},"modified":"2025-03-14T22:54:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T22:54:48","slug":"watchdog-urges-probe-into-faas-improper-starlink-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=133921","title":{"rendered":"Watchdog urges probe into FAA\u2019s \u2018improper\u201d Starlink deals"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Nonprofit government watchdog group Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has asked the US Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate whether the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has engaged in \u201cimproper\u201d business dealings with Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an letter<\/a> sent to Mitch Behm, the US Inspector General for the US Department of Transportation (DOT), which was made public on March 13, 2025, CLC noted that the FAA considered contracts with the company \u201cin response to Musks\u2019s requests\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Musk currently holds two significant positions as a special government employee (\u2018SGE\u2019) under the administration of US President Donald Trump, plus the CEO of Tesla, X, and SpaceX, a subsidiary of Starlink. This situation raises concerns about a potential conflict of interest in the awarding of certain government contracts.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Campaign Legal Center letter stated that the evidence suggests that Musk \u201chas blatantly and improperly influenced the FAA\u2019s decision to work with Starlink\u201d, and thus \u201cmay have violated the criminal conflict of interest law and corrupted FAA\u2019s business relationship with Starlink.\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On March 5, 2025, SpaceX denied recent allegations that the FAA might cancel a $2.4 billion contract with its current internet provider Verizon in favor of Starlink. However, SpaceX did mention on X that \u201cStarlink is a possible partial fix to an aging system,\u201d aligning with Musk\u2019s earlier statements on the social media platform.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On February 25, 2025, Musk stated<\/a> that \u201cthe Verizon system is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk\u201d. Shortly after, he added<\/a> that \u201cthe Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n