Comment by goshx
Don’t they need security clearances to do this?
Don’t they need security clearances to do this?
To be clear, Security Clearances is just an EO thing.
The actual laws just speak about things being critical to national security and don't use the words like "Top Secret" and etc.
The whole actually labeling things "Top Secret" and etc started off with Clinton [1] but then Bush [2] and Obama [3] modified the rules around classification.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_12958
"Top Secret" goes back a long ways, to before WWII I believe.
Who says they don't have them? Elon Musk certainly does.
They do. Elon already had top secret due to NASA/military work. The rest were authorised/given clearance for the work.
Legally, probably. But in the US, "legally" is enforced by the executive, and that's who's telling them to comply.