Judge says Musk engaged in intimidation of ex-FEMA CFO Mary Comans, clears her name
Ex-FEMA CFO Mary Comans' name was cleared by a federal judge after Elon Musk and other government officials falsely accused her of criminal actions in 2025.
Key points
- A federal magistrate judge ruled Elon Musk engaged in state sanctioned intimidation of ex-FEMA CFO Mary Comans.
- Musk posted falsehoods on X on Feb. 11, 2025, accusing Comans of criminal action and funneling $58 million to illegal migrant hotels.
- The judge cleared Comans' name and said high-ranking officials ran a coordinated campaign against her.
A federal magistrate judge in Virginia ruled that Elon Musk engaged in "state sanctioned intimidation" of former FEMA Chief Financial Officer Mary Comans. The judge found that Musk posted falsehoods on X on Feb. 11, 2025, accusing her of "criminal action" and of "funneling $58 million to illegal migrant hotels in Manhattan."
Musk was working for the Trump administration as the head of DOGE at the time. The Department of Homeland Security said the next day it was firing Comans and three colleagues, labeling them "deep state activists."
Judge clears Comans name
In Tuesday's order, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick cleared Comans' name. Comans served as FEMA CFO from around January 2018 until February 2025, and was also FEMA's operating chief from 2020 to 2021.
Fitzpatrick wrote that "The facts establish that high-ranking government officials," including Musk, then a special government employee, had "engaged in a coordinated public relations campaign to impugn the personal and professional integrity of Ms. Comans."
Mary Comans served in the federal government for 21 years.
— Craig Becker
Reaction to the ruling
The judge added that Musk posted a picture of Comans "to his millions of followers while falsely characterizing her government service as a 'criminal action,'" an act Fitzpatrick described as "little more than state sanctioned intimidation."
Democracy Defenders Fund, which was involved in Comans' case, said in a statement that it was pleased with the decision. Craig Becker, the group's head of affirmative litigation, said, "Mary Comans served in the federal government for 21 years." He added that "Career public servants are people, not pawns, and no one who has devoted their life to serving the American public should have their good name destroyed for partisan, political gain."
