As Elon Musk forges ahead with his work at DOGE and expands his political influence, questions are now mounting over the possible conflicts of interest he and his businesses face. DOGE, which is not an official government body, has targeted dozens of federal agencies–some of which regulate his own companies. They undermine the very systems designed to combat corruption and protect Americans from predatory practices. “Trump dismantled [an] accountability and ethics system that was really built up after Watergate,” notes Eric Lipton, a New York Times investigative reporter who co-authored a recent report outlining Musk’s potential conflicts. “Just about every aspect of accountability outside of the federal court system is gone.” As it stands, there’s currently no system for accountability and ethics monitoring at the federal level, Lipton said. Meanwhile, current conflict-of-interest laws are outdated and ill-equipped to address Musk’s vast business entanglements, according to Kirsten Grind, Lipton’s co-author. “He …