President Biden said on Wednesday that the role of foreign investors in funding Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter is “worth being looked at.” Mr. Biden made the comment in response to a question at a press conference about whether Musk’s actions — including securing the backing of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia and Qatar Holding, an investment firm owned by the Arab country’s sovereign wealth fund, to help fund his deal to buy Twitter — could post a threat to U.S. national security. “I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” Mr. Biden said. “Whether or not he’s doing anything inappropriate, I’m not saying that, but it’s worth being looked at.” Musk financed much of the purchase through his own fortune, but $7.1 billion was provided by equity investors including fellow billionaire Larry Ellison as well as foreign sources, such as Prince Alwaleed and Qatar Holding, according to Reuters. The importance of Twitter “as a platform for political discourse in the U.S.” raises implications for national security, experts with the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning think tank, wrote on November 4. In their view, the Twitter deal should be investigated by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, an agency that reviews the national security implications of foreign investment in U.S. companies.
via cbsnews: Biden says Elon Musk’s foreign investors in Twitter are “worth being looked at”