The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday it will pursue sanctions against Elon Musk after he did not appear in front of the commission tribunal scheduled for the agency’s investigation into his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, now called X.
In a nonscientific poll conducted over two days, readers of Must Read Alaska this week predicted by a large margin (82% to 18%) that if Kamala Harris becomes president, she’ll have the Dept. of Justice shut down X and prosecute Musk for “misinformation” or “hate” speech”? Those readers may have been prescient.
The SEC said in Friday’s court complaint that Musk should be held in civil contempt for not telling the SEC until three hours before a scheduled Sept. 10 tribunal that he would not appear.
The SEC is trying to prove that Musk broke securities laws when he bought a majority of the stocks that make up X. Jack Dorsey, the prior majority stockholder, who supported liberal candidates and causes, has not been investigated for selling the stocks to Musk. He operated the company with a different style, suppressing conservative voices as a business model.
Musk wanted to obtain the majority shares of the company because he said it was not living up to its potential as a platform for free speech.
Musk’s legal team said the sanctions constitute a drastic reaction by the SEC since Musk’s testimony had already been rescheduled for Oct. 3.
