A federal judge on Wednesday granted The New York Times’ motion for summary judgment to compel the government to produce a list of security clearances held by tech billionaire and one-time Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk.
In a 21-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote rejected the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency’s argument that providing a list of Musk’s security clearances would “invade [his] privacy,” ordering that the information be released, pending review for redactions.
The judge pointed to public comments Musk made claiming to have “a top-secret security clearance,” as well as other clearances, and posts on his social platform X that mentioned “issues relevant to [DCSA security clearance review] topics, including his personal drug use and contacts with foreign leaders.”
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, ketamine, which Musk has a prescription for, is a Schedule III controlled substance. The federal application for security clearances “directs applicants to disclose whether they have used ketamine in the last seven years.”
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has admitted to using marijuana in the past and multiple media outlets have reported that he has recently used other prescription and recreational drugs, including Adderall, Ecstasy, LSD, and psychedelic mushrooms.
Cote wrote that “there are at least two significant public interests at play … knowing whether the leader of SpaceX and Starlink holds the appropriate security clearances” and “in understanding the thoroughness, fairness, and accuracy of government investigations and operations.
“Musk’s numerous public statements regarding his own drug use and contacts with foreign leaders only enhance the public interest in disclosure,” she said, citing the DCSA’s “duty of ‘continuous vetting’ to ensure that individuals granted security clearances ‘continue to meet clearance requirements and should continue to hold positions of trust.'”
Late last year, the Times filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking “a list of security clearances” for Musk, including “any details about the extent and purview of each of the clearances.”
The newspaper and the DCSA went back and forth on the issue for the first few months of President Donald Trump’s second term, with the federal agency saying that Musk was “still a private citizen” and the Times arguing that he was now a special government employee.
In her ruling, the judge rejected the DCSA argument that the list of clearances could be withheld under two FOIA exemptions.
“Undisputed record evidence establishes that neither exemption applies because the substantial public interests in disclosure outweigh any cognizable privacy interest Musk holds,” Cote said.
The judge reasoned that the list of security clearances was not related to sensitive personal information like medical records and noted that Musk himself had publicly mentioned his security clearances and drug use, thereby waiving any secrecy surrounding the issues. The narrow scope of the Times’ request also factored into Cote’s ruling compelling disclosure.
She set an Oct. 17 deadline for the Trump administration to submit its proposed redactions to the two-page document for the court to review.
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