Biden's Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen U-turns and says Musk's Twitter deal ... trends now
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday walked back comments saying she saw no reason for an investigation into Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, instead hinting that it is being reviewed for any impact on national security.
Earlier this month she told CBS News in Bali, Indonesia, that she saw 'no basis' for launching an investigation of Musk's purchase of the social media platform.
That put her at odds with President Joe Biden, who said there were national security grounds for a review.
Speaking in New York on Wednesday, she said: 'Let me clarify. I misspoke.
'Let me say to the extent that there are international investments there, we have an agency within Treasury called CFIUS [Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] that does look at transactions that involve foreign investment in the United States to see if they create national security risk.'
The role of foreign investors in Twitter, coupled with Musk's laissez-faire approach to moderation, has raised concerns that the platform could be maniputlated.
Securities filings show that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abudlaziz of Saudi Arabia put up $1.9 billion of the purchase price as part of the Musk deal, making him the second biggest shareholder.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reversed course on Wednesday, saying she 'misspoke' when she said there was no basis for a review of Elon Musk's Twitter deal
Elon Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter. But the role of foreign investors in the deal lead lawmakers and President Joe Biden to say there were grounds for a review
Yellen would not be drawn into commenting further on the prospect of a review of Musk and Twitter.
'We do not talk about particular transactions, but this agency does look carefully at transactions that
