Context for J3, Musk, and Durov: Action Will Ensue
April 20, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
I read a short news item. I did a quick online search, and the information in “DOJ Refuses to Help French Authorities in Criminal Probe of X” did not get much “play.” That’s one signal that what seems to be a trivial issue between a BAIT (big AI tech) outfit and French authorities has nothing to do for the price of a six-pack of Coca-Cola. The two news outlets covering the dust up between France and Musk are Reuters and the Wall Street Journal.
Thanks, Venice.ai. Your guardrails did not work for this image: Implied violence, prohibited food items, and an anachronism. Get with it, bro.
The cited article said on April 18, 2026:
As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department characterized the French probe as “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.”
The investigation kicked off in July 2025. The matters of concern to the French authorities included CP, its algorithm, and “fraudulent data extraction.”
What is not emphasized is that this legal action is coming from France’s judiciary and its J3 unit. For those who follow the activities of this office, J3 was instrumental in the take down and subsequent activities against a dark phone used for criminal purposes. Plus, J3 officers initiated the direct arrest of Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, the instant messaging service. Durov awaits trial in France for about a dozen serious online crimes. That trial could occur in 2026 or be postponed to 2027. The French judiciary uses legal processes and time as levers to obtain the information and cooperation it requires.
The important point is that Mme Johanna Brousse is leading the Paris crime unit. She has a well-earned reputation for persistence and legal acumen. Elon Musk has ignored requests to participate in a discussion in Paris. Now the US Department of Justice has reacted to Mme Brousse with a no-cooperation statement.
Several observations are warranted:
- Mr. Musk nor the other individuals identified as persons of interest in this matter should plan on a visit to Paris for shopping and a good dinner. Pavel Durov tried that, and he is now forced to watch his Telegram empire struggle and enter what appears to be a downward flight path.
- Mme Brousse will follow the rules. Mr. Musk is not a French citizen, and he resides in the United States; therefore, her team’s next step is difficult to predict.
- Government officials in other departments of the French government may have ideas about how to engage Mr. Musk with Mme Brousse and her colleagues. I feel like I should remind anyone reading this blog post that the French have a direct action mentality.
If we look at Mme Brousse’s actions to enforce the law, she is operating in a manner that provides a model to other EU states and to the EU itself. Without any further action by Mme Brousse, these governing and rule-making entities may launch their own inquiries into Mr. Musk, Grok, X.com, and any other entities with which he is associated. A simple Tesla accident in Italy could become a higher profile event, not a car park fender bender.
To recap, we have had the raid of the Musk offices in France. We have had a request to the US Department of Justice. What’s next? Pavel Durov followed a similar approach when French authorities sought his assistance in an investigation. Mr. Musk may be too rich and too powerful to arrest. But as the French proverb says:
Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid.
In English, this means “little by little the bird builds its nest.” But at some point, the little bird whispers in the ears of a French Foreign Legion team and c’est domage, en effet. A diplomatic rebuff is not the way to make a pal in Paris.
Stephen E Arnold, April 20, 2026
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