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0 pointsrunjake1y ago0 comments

Musk has, and has had, top secret security clearance for years, due to his SpaceX work launching spy satellites for the US government.

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kccoder1y ago

The president has top secret clearance and doesn't have access to personal tax returns. I don't believe there is a blanket "all things included" security clearance.

throwaway7849891y ago

This is correct. There is no "you get access to everything" kind of clearance. That includes the President. Congress has the power to get access to anything, but even then there is a tight process limited to a handful of congresspeople.

A core part of this sort of security is compartmentalization. A person who has "top secret" level clearance has it for specific subject matter. Their clearance is worthless if they're outside those boundaries.

ModernMech1y ago

That's not quite right:

"The President of the United States will be given access to any government or military information that they request, even if they would not otherwise be able to normally obtain a security clearance were they not the President."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_security_clearan...

Trump essentially granted Musk his presidential clearance. If Musk hits any resistance to classified information, Trump can just access it and hand it to Musk. If it's a crime to do so, Trump can declassify it, pardon Musk, or just instruct his DOJ not to charge him.

runjakeOP1y ago

I was merely answering the parent's comment, which they seem to have significantly edited after the fact.

But no, there is no "all things included" security clearance.

And you're right, POTUS does not normally have access to tax returns information, per 26 U.S.C. § 6103:

https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-26-internal-revenue-code/...

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