‘I’m Not Kidding’: FBI Agent Tried to Prosecute Musk for Asking Gov’t Workers What They Did All Week

An FBI agent last year pressed colleagues to open a criminal case against Elon Musk after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) asked federal employees to list five accomplishments from the prior week, according to internal emails the Senate Judiciary Committee released Tuesday.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who chairs the committee, presented the email at a hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel as evidence that some in the bureau attempted to investigate and sideline President Trump and his allies.

“The previous Democrat administrations under Obama and Biden conducted secret, insidious, and downright evil operations that almost took down our government,” Grassley said.

The "HR email" is staggering in that it could have been penned by an MS NOW contributor and been nearly indiscernible in its rabid despising of Musk.

In the message dated February 22nd, 2025, then-Special Agent Kevin Gounaud argued that Musk, as head of DOGE, had caused federal employees to burn an enormous amount of official time and had run afoul of information-security rules. How? By demanding federal workers engage in the relatively mundane task of listing five things they had accomplished on taxpayer time the previous week.

"I would like to recommend the opening of a criminal 58 matter on the person(s) at OPM who approved the transmission of the earlier email," Gounaud wrote in response. 

"That person, in conspiracy with Elon Musk (who is reportedly an SGE), in addition to wasting a colossal amount of official time, encouraged, abetted, aided, etc. thousands if not tens of thousands of government employees to violate government-wide security policy and transmit sensitive government information outside of a strict need to know."

FBI AGENT: PROSECUTE MUSK OVER DOGE

"...happy to write the case opening and find a prosecutor (or at least try)... No, I am not kidding."

- FBI Special Agent 'sought to criminally investigate @elonmusk after Musk asked government officials to list five things they… pic.twitter.com/3vWvzWyWOw

— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) September 15, 2026

You're certainly trying to imagine how it would take "colossal" amounts of time to think of five things you did at work last week. As am I.

Gounaud, who now lists himself as a self-employed security consultant, also suggested Musk was improperly enriching himself by circulating government information on X, the social network he owns, which the agent repeatedly still called Twitter.

He explained that Musk transparently relaying the demand of government workers to his X feed was akin to Hillary Clinton using personal emails for official work as Secretary of State.

The former agent told colleagues he would draft the paperwork to open a case and would be "happy" to look for a prosecutor to take it, or else send the matter to an inspector general.

"And no, I’m not kidding," he concluded.

There is no indication that an investigation ever commenced. Gounaud's LinkedIn page indicates he left the FBI a year after this email. Musk would leave DOGE three months later.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO set off a firestorm by telling federal workers they would have to explain what they got done — and that their silence would be treated as a resignation.

"Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week," Musk wrote on X. "Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."

Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week.

Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2025

Not many people would look at a message from a manager asking employees to explain what they do and think, 'Hey, that's a crime.'

So, congrats on Mr. Gounaud thinking way outside the box, I guess.

How many agents like this were roaming the bureau’s halls before Kash Patel arrived? How many are still there?

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