Judge finds Elon Musk, Kristi Noem engaged in premeditated campaign to smear ex-FEMA official

Updated on: October 15, 2026 / 4:26 PM EDT / CBS News

Judge finds Elon Musk, Kristi Noem engaged in premeditated campaign to smear ex-FEMA official

TL;DR

  • Federal judge U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick found Elon Musk and Kristi Noem, among others, engaged in a coordinated campaign to spread false information about former FEMA official Mary Comans.
  • Comans, the former chief financial officer at FEMA, was fired without cause in February 2025, but a press release falsely accused her of circumventing agency leaders to make payments for undocumented migrants' luxury hotels.
  • The court found that senior officials, including Noem and Musk, made false statements about Comans, with Musk sharing her photo on X and falsely accusing her of criminal action.
  • Judge Fitzpatrick stated that the campaign was "premeditated" and intended to "disseminate false and derogatory information" about Comans, calling Musk's social media post "state sanctioned intimidation."
  • The judge also noted that Noem and Corey Lewandowski provided false information about Comans to Laura Loomer for dissemination.