Conflicting plans for Elon Musk’s X, Strait of Hormuz sets up France-Trump showdown

The Trump Justice Department is not playing along with France, as US officials refused to help French investigators go after Elon Musk’s platform X after a raid hit the company’s Paris office earlier this year.

Washington is not joining what it sees as a politically-motivated case targeting an American tech business, according to a two-page letter sent Friday by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

DOJ rejects France requests and calls investigation political

The letter reportedly said:-

“This investigation seeks to use the criminal legal system in France to regulate a public square for the free expression of ideas and opinions in a manner contrary to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

It also said France’s requests “constitute an effort to entangle the United States in a politically charged criminal proceeding aimed at wrongfully regulating through prosecution the business activities of a social media platform.”

French authorities had already made three separate requests for US help in 2025. Those included attempts to serve legal summons to X officials.

Investigators had already raided the company’s Paris office in February, pushing tensions higher between European regulators and the platform. X described that raid as “an abusive act of law enforcement theater.”

French officials have since summoned Elon, former CEO Linda Yaccarino, and other employees for what they called voluntary interviews. Elon was scheduled to appear Monday. Under French law, skipping such a summons can lead to arrest warrants. That puts real legal risk on the table.

Authorities are looking into claims tied to deepfake content and alleged bias in X’s algorithm, arguing the system favors Elon’s views.

The case started in January 2025 after complaints from a lawmaker and another official who said the platform’s content selection could count as foreign interference in France. Prosecutors are also reviewing serious charges like distribution of child pornography.

An xAI official allegedly said, “We are grateful to the Justice Department for rejecting this effort by a prosecutor in Paris to compel our CEO and several employees to sit for interviews.”

The same official added, “We hope the Parisian authorities will now come to their senses, recognize that there is no wrongdoing here, and terminate their baseless investigation.” X operates under Elon’s AI firm xAI, which is now owned by SpaceX.

France and UK push independent Hormuz plan without US involvement

While this legal fight plays out, France is also annoying Trump on a totally different front. President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer are working on a joint plan focused on the Strait of Hormuz.

They are pushing a European-led mission to reopen the shipping route after conflict ends, without relying on US leadership.

The proposal introduces a naval force made up of Britain, France, and other non-belligerent countries. Deployment would only happen after fighting stops.

According to the boys, their goal is to restore normal shipping, not control the conflict. This approach stands apart from Donald Trump’s strategy, which uses US naval power to block Iranian ports.

A senior European official reportedly said the plan is not meant to bypass Washington. Talks started early in the conflict and are now being finalized with London. Macron confirmed a conference in Paris with multiple countries joining by video, where he said it would support a “multilateral and purely defensive mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation.”

Starmer described the same plan as a “coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping when the conflict ends.” Britain has already involved more than 40 countries, and the US was not part of those earlier discussions.

European officials stressed the mission would be “strictly defensive” and only launch after active fighting ends, saying, “What we want in the end is no blockade, no toll, no nothing that blocks the fluidity of what is going through the Strait of Hormuz,” while adding that Iran remains “the first problem.”

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