Democratic Senators Call for Ethics Investigation Into Starlink’s Recent Trade Deals

Starlink, online internet constellation from Elon Musk, which is operating via Spacex, has acquired the attention of legislators. This week, Democratic Senators called on to investigate whether the Trump administration is using commercial negotiations in favor of Musk.

In a letter addressed to federal officials, including Public Prosecutor Bam Bondi and the director of the American Bureau of American Ethics, Jameson Jarir, a group of Democratic Senate members, wrote, “Musk may use its official role and his proximity to the president as a crane for his own personal and financial interest – even if it is expensive for American consumers and foreign policy interests.”

The message comes shortly after the accompanying of Musk Trump to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the first foreign trip to the president in his second term and announced the approval of Starlink in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia while the White House shared the latest defense and trade agreements. Senate members, including Elizabeth Warren (MBMas), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Jin Shaheen (DN.H), indicated that Starlink has a “aggressive goal” to win a million new customers every year. However, Starlink has struggled to secure agreements to work on some emerging markets “and its growth appears slow last year. But then things turned.

“Since President Trump took office, Musk has become Trump’s supreme advisor. Starlink has witnessed a rush from new countries that allow the company to enter its markets,” said members of the Senate: For example, Lesoto Musk gave the first online satellite service license shortly after Trump in the country high definitions. Senate members also highlighted the recent deals with other countries “seeking a threat from the unpredictable Trump administration tariff”, including India, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

The message specifically mentions two articles from the Washington Post. First, the editorial shows details that a Bangladeshi official met with musk in the White House in February immediately after a commercial meeting. There, the musk guaranteed that the country “will not be able to obtain favorable commercial conditions” without giving Starlink to reach Bangladesh. After that, the report in which the publication was detailed explains how the internal documents obtained that officials “pushed the countries to clarify obstacles to American satellite companies, and Starlink is often mentioned by name.” Although nothing shows the Trump administration, “it is explicitly asking[ing] The Post newspaper reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had asked officials to press for organizational approvals.

Senate members said: “The indication is that a foreign government adopts Starlink in exchange for relief on definitions, it appears to be a state of textbooks for corruption,” while requesting an investigation into whether officials are “followers of Quid-PRO-Quo exchange to reach Starlink in favor of the tariff that violates federal morals.”

In addition, Senators wrote that the participation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raises additional concerns, including “these officials may spoil the interest of the public in favor of Mr. Musk’s financial interests while negotiating the new tariff agreements – and whether they have been directed by [Musk] or [Trump] To do this. “The members of the Senate asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Inspector General to investigate this matter.