Senator calls for investigation into Saudi stake in Elon’s Twitter buyout

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) is demanding a national security review of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover and the nearly $2 billion in Saudi funding for the deal.

In a statement on Monday, Murphy called on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) to open an investigation into Saudi investment in Twitter. Musk’s deal, totaling $44 billion, includes billions in foreign funding from both Saudi Arabia and Chinese investors. Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company and the private office of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal claimed to be Twitter’s “second largest investors,” with a combined stake worth $1.89 billion.

“We should be concerned that the Saudis, who have a clear interest in repressing political speech and impacting U.S. politics, are now the second-largest owner of a major social media platform,” Murphy said in a Monday tweet.