Recently Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Trump administration, erroneously identified Tamar Eisen, an employee at the nonprofit National Democratic Institute (NDI), as the daughter of Norm Eisen, former White House ethics czar and CNN legal analyst. This incorrect assumption led Musk to falsely accuse Norm Eisen of leading a “crime family.”
Musk, a billionaire and de-facto cabinet member, shared a post on February 27, 2025, on his X platform which mistakenly linked the two individuals. The post criticized Norm Eisen for his involvement in a series of lawsuits aiming to prevent DOGE from slashing funds to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). It also incorrectly claimed that Tamar Eisen had been part of the NDI’s Gender, Women, and Democracy team for almost three years.
In response to the post, Musk commented, “The Eisen crime family”. However, according to The Daily Beast, there is no familial connection between Norm and Tamar Eisen. This incident adds to previous examples of Musk spreading unverified information to his extensive audience on his own platform.
Norm Eisen, founder of the State Democracy Defenders Fund, has been instrumental in several lawsuits against the Trump administration. His organization seeks to protect democracy in the United States by opposing changes to election administration and procedures. As Musk and President Trump push their agenda, Eisen told The New Republic, “Every time Trump and Musk flood the zone, we do two cases,” referring to the strategy as “rule of law shock and awe.”
The State Democracy Defenders Fund is a nonpartisan organization. Its activities include filing amicus briefs in election-related court cases and publishing op-eds in various media outlets. The team includes Eisen, who served as an ambassador during the Obama administration.
Musk has recently been involved in another case of mistaken identity. Building America’s Future, a political action group funded by Musk, produced an attack ad targeting the liberal candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Dane County Judge Susan M. Crawford. However, the ad featured a photo of the wrong Susan Crawford, using an image of a Harvard Law School professor, Susan P. Crawford, instead of the actual candidate.
Public service unions have allied with the State Democracy Defenders Fund to oppose what they see as “unlawful, mass federal firings” resulting from DOGE’s initiatives to downsize the federal government. This collaboration comes in the wake of Musk’s controversial support for the Trump administration, particularly in his role leading DOGE, as the unit seeks to drastically reduce federal spending, including cuts to USAID funding, which Eisen’s lawsuits have targeted.
These two instances of mistaken identity highlight the potential for misinformation to be spread by influential figures with extensive social media reach. In both cases, Musk has either amplified or funded content that contains false information about individuals who oppose his political allies or business interests.
As of February 28, 2025, Musk had not corrected his false statement about Norm and Tamar Eisen. His post labeling them as a “crime family” remained visible to his over 190 million followers on his X platform.
