Elon Musk is accusing White House personnel chief Sergio Gor of falsifying information on federal security clearance forms — an uncorroborated claim the tech mogul and former administration official describes as a “serious crime.”
Gor, who leads personnel decisions for President Donald Trump’s administration, is now at the center of an escalating public feud with Musk — sparked by disputes over vetting practices tied to high-level federal appointments. Musk now claims that Gor misrepresented his birthplace on official vetting documents, a move he says violates federal law.
Background on the Fallout
Musk previously accused Gor of undermining his recommendation of billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, blaming him for blocking what he called a qualified nomination.
That nomination battle appears to have been a catalyst for Musk’s public — and very messy — split with Trump earlier this month. According to Politico, the incident was a key flashpoint in the breakdown of their once-close relationship.
Security Concerns
While some may chalk up Musk’s claims to sour grapes, Gor — who holds responsibility for vetting executive branch personnel — has reportedly failed to submit his own Standard Form 86 (SF-86), a mandatory document required to obtain a national security clearance. Critics argue that his lack of disclosure about his birthplace raises serious concerns for someone overseeing sensitive vetting decisions.
On Wednesday, Musk called Gor a “snake” in response to a New York Post report detailing allegations that Gor has not been properly vetted.
As the Post reported:
Gor, 38, is in charge of picking about 4,000 executive-branch staff to implement Trump’s agenda — and he’s done so by poring over old tweets, political donations and remarks to ensure loyalty to the president.
But three administration insiders told The Post that the vetter-in-chief has not turned in his Standard Form 86, or SF-86 — a more than 100-page set of questions required for officials who need security clearances.
Among the questions applicants must answer under threat of criminal penalties is where they were born and whether they have any foreign connections.
Gor claims to be from the island country of Malta, though an official there could not confirm his birthplace when provided his exact birthday, saying: “No acts are registered with the provided details.”
Gor reportedly declined to disclose his country of birth to the New York Post, only saying that it was not Russia.
Supporters within the administration have pushed back, saying that Gor currently holds an active security clearance and has met all ethical and legal obligations. He remains closely aligned with both President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, with Vance and others publicly signaling their continued trust in Gor’s judgment.
“Sergio Gor is a trusted adviser to President Trump, and he has played a critical role in helping President Trump staff the most talented administration in history. It’s sad that the New York Post is engaging in baseless gossip rather than focusing on how the Trump administration is tackling the issues impacting our country and the world,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
However, another source inside the administration said Gor only holds an interim security clearance — and emphasized that the SF-86 form “is the first step in receiving a security clearance. Everyone — everyone — fills one out, even if they’re not going into a role that will ultimately require an active clearance, [such as] random comms people, administrative staff, [and] legislative affairs.”
According to the New York Post, Gor has never submitted the SF-86 form.
“It seemed like a ‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks’-type situation. Like, why are you going so crazy about not wanting to fill this out?” the source added.
The same official continued: “He was actively working to convince everyone — including the lawyers — that the SF-86 was unnecessary, and that Trump could simply provide everyone with a clearance through executive authority.”
“He basically argued that the ‘deep state’ could corrupt the clearance process by weaponizing the SF-86 and background check investigations.”
Submission of the form initiates a background review conducted by the FBI and the Department of Defense. Rare exceptions to circumvent the process have occasionally been granted by presidents.
The form includes questions about birthplace, past residences, foreign contacts, and drug use.
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Very odd!
Maybe his real boss is Vlad Putin!
Since were bringing up places of birth it would be nice if this administration would finally publish the truth about where obama was actually born.
Big Deal??? Compared with 12 to 20+ Million UNVETTED Illegal Aliens pushed into the USA by Biden and the Democrats breaking existing Immigration Laws!