Elon Musk called out Twitter over 2016 Hillary Clinton tweet linking the Trump Organization to a Russian bank

• Musk agreed with a Twitter user who said a 2016 tweet by Hillary Clinton was "misleading information."
• Clinton had shared a statement from her policy advisor linking Trump to Russia's state-owned Alfa Bank.

Elon Musk has accused Twitter of allowing "disinformation" on its platform by failing to act on a 2016 tweet by Hillary Clinton that linked the Trump Organization to a Russian state-owned bank.

Musk, who is in the process of buying Twitter, was prompted by a user who said they had reported the tweet — a screengrab of a statement from her policy adviser in response to a Slate article — to "the powers that be" at the social media giant for "misleading disinformation."

Musk replied: "You are absolutely correct. That tweet is a Clinton campaign hoax for which their campaign lawyer is undergoing a criminal trial." Musk linked to a BBC article from May 18 about a trial in which Michael Sussmann, Clinton's lawyer, has been accused of trying to "manipulate" the FBI in the run-up to the 2016 election.

—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022

Twitter and Clinton didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.

"Sussmann himself admitted billing Clinton Campaign to pay for him to present Russia hoax to FBI! This is not even questioned by the defense," Musk said in a follow-up tweet, saying also that he voted for Hillary and donated to her campaign so was "doubly pissed off about those funds being used for lying."

Sussmann is accused of not disclosing his Democrat links when he filed evidence with the FBI allegedly showing suspicious internet traffic connecting the Trump Organization to Russia's Alfa Bank. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty in the trial, which continues.

"Whether other senior campaign managers were aware or not is a separate question," Musk tweeted. "What is *not* in question is that Sussmann charged the Clinton Campaign for his Russia hoax meeting with the FBI."

Musk has made his political stance more overt in recent days, saying in the past he voted Democrat, but would now vote Republican.

Following a report by Insider citing court documents that Musk exposed himself to a SpaceX flight attendant and propositioned her for sex, Musk tweeted attacks against him "should be viewed through a political lens."

He put his $44 billion bid for Twitter on hold pending confirmation of the number of automated bots using the platform. Musk disputes Twitter's assertion that only 5% of daily active users are bots.