1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

Investigate Corruption in Pentagon Leadership I am writing regarding Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s Under Secretary for Research and Engineering. Recent reports indicate that Mr. Michael reaped a staggering profit of $24 million by selling private stock in Elon Musk’s xAI—a company with which the Pentagon signed multiple agreements while Michael oversaw its AI acquisition strategy. This represents a blatant conflict of interest and violation of federal criminal statutes. For a high-ranking defense official to maintain financial stakes in a private firm while steering government contracts toward it is an affront to public trust. Furthermore, Michael’s public disparagement of competitors like Anthropic—following their refusal to allow technology to be used for domestic surveillance—suggests a pattern of prioritizing political and personal interests over national security. The Pentagon must not be a vehicle for private enrichment. This warrants an immediate, transparent investigation into Mr. Michael’s financial dealings and the administration’s AI procurement processes. Restore accountability and ensure that defense policy is driven by the public interest, not private profit.