A federal magistrate judge in Virginia ruled on October 13, 2026 that Elon Musk engaged in of , the former chief financial officer of FEMA.
Musk posted the accusations on X on February 11, 2025, saying Comans committed a "criminal action" and was "funneling $58 million to illegal migrant hotels in Manhattan."
The Department of Homeland Security said on February 12, 2025 it was firing Comans and three colleagues, labeling them "deep state activists."
At the time of the posts, Musk was running DOGE for the Trump administration as a .
wrote that Musk that any payments made to state or local governments through a FEMA grant in February 2025 were approved by his own subordinates.
Musk posted a picture of Comans to his millions of followers while calling her government service a criminal action.
Comans served as FEMA's CFO from around January 2018 until February 2025, and was also the agency's operating chief from 2020 to 2021 — 21 years in federal government.
CNBC reached out to Musk and White House attorneys involved in the case for comment.
Musk was never charged with a crime. The remedy was a judicial finding that the accusation was false.