Elon Musk and Trump Were Both in on Ukraine Starlink Shut-Off

Tech CEO Elon Musk reportedly approached President Trump on slowing down his Starlink communications service in Ukraine earlier this week, contradicting both Musk’s statement that it was Trump’s idea and Trump’s statement that he has no idea who did it. The Telegraph, citing four anonymous sources, reports that Musk proposed slowing down Starshield, the military grade version of Musk’s Starlink satellite communications system, and that Trump agreed. The move hindered Ukraine’s drone defenses of Russian attacks, and came while Trump is upset with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s decision to target Russian oil refineries and infrastructure after Trump lifted sanctions on Russian fuel. After Ukraine’s Starlink access was restricted, Russia launched a massive aerial attack on Wednesday that continued into the next morning.Shortly afterward, Musk directed blame at the Trump administration, saying that “Starshield systems are owned and controlled” by the federal government and “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” An unnamed source told the Telegraph that after the “night of carnage” in Kyiv, Musk was reportedly scared that he would face a backlash from consumers in Europe.“[Musk] tweeted out that he was innocent and that it was the US administration that did it. The reality is that they were both in it,” the source said. On Friday afternoon, Trump was asked by a reporter outside of the White House who was responsible for hindering Starlink, him or Musk. He claimed ignorance. “Well, I don’t know if it was anybody, because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon, and from what I understand, it’s the same as it’s always been,” Trump said.Q: Was it you or was it Elon Musk who decided to temporarily pause Starlink access for the Ukrainian military? TRUMP: I don't know if it was anybody, because it wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon https://t.co/pH4hV2fbP2— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 16, 2026 Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin revealed Friday that the Trump administration is hoping to bring a criminal conspiracy case against Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar.Appearing on Real America’s Voice, Mullin discussed his agency’s plan to go after the Democratic lawmaker after her home in Washington was raided Monday, just three weeks before November’s midterm elections. The federal government is reportedly investigating how Omar got her citizenship after she arrived in the United States from Somalia as a child.“If someone comes in and claims—that fills out their paperwork illegally, and they claim that they are this person, and this is their background, and then underneath that individual, a lot of other people come in … then that can be considered a RICO case,” Mullin said. “There was a conspiracy to deceive the American government, and therefore everything else that came in with it could then for be looked at as the same case,” the secretary said. “Good thing about something like a case like that, is when it is a RICO case, that the statue of limitations on things, they don’t, they don’t apply. A few cases they do, but in most cases they don’t,” he added. The probe ostensibly centers on whether Omar’s father put her age as 17 rather than 18 on her citizenship application to allow her to qualify immediately for citizenship alongside his own application. In order to strip her American citizenship, the Department of Justice has to sue in federal court and prove that the person materially lied to get their status. It’s still unclear what, if any, evidence DHS has found to support this crusade against one of the president’s most outspoken critics. Mullin claimed that DHS “worked very closely with DOJ through the whole process.” So surely, he should know about one crucial section of the DOJ manual that bars federal prosecutors from timing any action, including investigative steps, criminal charges, or statements, for the purpose of undermining a candidate in an upcoming election. Mullin’s remarks came the same day that early voting began in Minnesota.If the Trump administration really wants to talk about a RICO case, then maybe we should discuss how President Donald Trump is weaponizing federal agencies to go after his critics? Or if we want to just stick with a classic, we can always revisit that pesky grand jury indictment Trump and his buddies received for their efforts to overturn the results of the 2024 presidential election.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy knows how to get the European Union laughing—at Donald Trump.EU leaders met in Brussels for the conclusion of the European Council summit Friday, where they closed ranks around Ukraine in its ongoing war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. During one press conference, Zelenskiy was asked if he felt Trump was making him a “scapegoat” before America’s November midterm elections. “President Trump is facing pretty difficult midterm elections. His personal popularity is very low, diesel prices in the U.S. are very high, and the war that he started in the Middle East is not going the way he wants it,” the Sky News reporter asked. “Do you think you are being treated as a scapegoat for his own problems?”Zelenskiy took a long pause, glanced at the papers on his podium, and then looked up, smiling. The whole room laughed.“This is my answer,” Zelenskiy said.Q: Do you think you are being treated as a scapegoat for Trump's own problems? Zelensky: (Smiles) This is my answer. https://t.co/30UHJbIu4E— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 16, 2026 It is painfully obvious to anyone paying attention that Zelenskiy is being scapegoated for Trump’s disastrous second-term record. Only two days ago, SpaceX throttled Ukraine’s access to the Starlink satellite internet network with no warning. On Friday, The Telegraph reported that Elon Musk went to the White House to specifically discuss the cuts ahead of time. “The reality is that they were both in it,” one source said of Musk and Trump’s plan.Trump has also recently ramped up his public criticism of Zelenskiy and Ukraine, specifically for continuing to attack Russian oil refineries after the U.S. lifted sanctions on Russian oil in a misguided attempt to bring down diesel prices before the midterms.Judging by the laughter in Brussels, however, Trump is not fooling most of our allies. Ukraine is no more responsible for high gas prices in the U.S. than for the empty seats at the president’s rallies or the blue momentum building in deep red states. Look in the mirror, grandpa. Katie Zacharia’s tenure as White House press secretary only lasted five days before President Trump fired her Friday, breaking the record for shortest duration in the role. Anthony Scaramucci, who only served for 11 days as White House communications director, had a charitable take on the firing, posting on X, “Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain,” in response to a post about Zacharia’s dismissal.Unlike Scaramucci, who was fired for criticizing multiple Trump administration officials in a New Yorker interview, Zacharia was fired for a disastrous first press briefing, misrepresenting her credentials as a lawyer when she hasn’t passed a bar exam, and bombing an interview with pro-Trump pundit Sean Hannity on Fox News. White House staff were even trading scathing insults of her over text messages. Scaramucci lasted long enough to get hilariously parodied on SNL by Bill Hader in 2017, but it remains to be seen whether Zacharia will have Scarlett Johansson playing her as she had hoped. She still faces a bar complaint in the state of California that could become criminal charges, and the media is dissecting her husband Tyler’s work history for a North Korean firm. Trump’s political career has been known for train wrecks, but Zacharia might be the biggest one of all.Katie Zacharia has been fired as White House press secretary after less than one week on the job, The New York Times reported Friday, citing three anonymous sources. She hosted one 14-minute press briefing, took 3 questions, and will go down in history as the press secretary with the shortest tenure to date.Fox News also reported that Zacharia would be “transitioning out” of the job, though it’s unclear what exactly that means.Zacharia has faced intense media scrutiny and blowback this week regarding her bogus legal credentials, train-wreck first press briefing, and a disastrous appearance on Fox News’s Hannity where she tried to defend calling herself a “lawyer” but not an “attorney.”The news of her exit comes shortly after President Donald Trump told reporters that the media was treating Zacharia “nastily” but admitted he had suggested she “reconsider” the position. “I said, ‘Katie, you don’t have do this if you don’t wanna.’ She said, ‘This is a lot tougher.’ I said, ‘Welcome to the world of Trump.’”“Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this,” the president said he told her. “I said to her, honestly if I were you, I’d reconsider. You think about it, but I would reconsider.”CNN White House reporter Kaitlan Collins reported that Trump was “embarrassed by the coverage of Zacharia’s briefing and when he polled other aides about her, Zacharia had few allies willing to stand up for her or defend her performance.”“The main reason he rushed to select her after growing irritated with how long the process was taking to replace Karoline Leavitt was because he wanted more people defending him on TV,” Collins added. “When she failed to do so in a sufficient way with Sean Hannity, Trump said he knew she needed to go.”Zacharia has spent much of her five days as press secretary attempting to justify calling herself a “lawyer,” despite never having passed the bar exam. She may face investigation in the state of California for purportedly calling herself a “lawyer” without a license after a bar complaint was filed Wednesday.“Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain,” ex–Trump communications director Antony Scaramucci wrote on X following Zacharia’s termination. Scaramucci stood behind the White House briefing room podium in Trump’s first term for a then-record 11 days, from July 21 to July 31, 2017. Zacharia lasted about 0.4 percent of that time.Before the news of her firing, reporters asked the president if Zacharia would remain in his administration. “In some form, but maybe a more pleasant form,” he said.“I just want her to be happy,” he added.This story has been updated.