Judge recuses himself from Elon Musk's case against Media Matters

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Hill, via Joe.My.God.

MEDIA

Judge recuses himself from Elon Musk’s case against Media Matters

BY DOMINICK MASTRANGELO - 11/28/23 3:17 PM ET

The judge presiding over tech billionaire Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Media Matters for America has recused himself from the case, according to court documents.

In a notice filed with the court on Tuesday, Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court in Northern Texas wrote that he was recusing himself from the case and requested the clerk of the court assign it to another judge.

Pittman, who was appointed to his position by former President Trump, did not give a reason for stepping away, and it was not immediately clear why the request was made.

Federal judges are mandated to recuse themselves when their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned,” including when they have a financial interest or personal bias.

{snip}



Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4331598-elon-musk-media-matters-judge-recuses-from-case/

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Hat tip, Joe.My.God.

Trump Judge Recuses From Musk’s Media Matters Suit
November 28, 2023

https://www.joemygod.com/2023/11/trump-judge-recuses-from-musks-media-matters-suit/

[BumRushDaShow]

1. I wonder if he bought and still owns stock (when it was still twitter)

back when it first went public, and kept it after it was delisted.

[Warpy]

2. Or if Musk's investigators might have turned up some peccadillo he doesn't want exposed

and there was a "rule my way, or everybody will know." Most likely he owns Tesla stock or something like that. Or plays golf with someone on the BOD of Media Matters.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Must be something powerful

since GOP judges don't feel they should recuse for anything!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. He may be not wanting to tangle with magats. They adore Muskellunge. . . nt

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Well this case is in TX

so chances are the judges will be conservative since they packed those districts and the corresponding 5th Circuit.

Oh well...

[OldBaldy1701E]

17. My thought as well. (n/t)

[PSPS]

5. It's a private company now. Musk owns 100% of its shares.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. I did actually check before posting and no he doesn't own all the shares

He owns 79%, and some asset management companies like BlackRock (~5%), StateStreet (~5%), plus assorted and sundry entities, own the other.

Twitter (X)

In April 2022, Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion after threatening a hostile takeover. The deal was finalized in October 2022, after Twitter sued Musk for trying to back out of the deal.

His takeover has been controversial, as he laid off half of the company’s workforce and added a paid subscription service ($8 per month) for anyone who wants their account verified. Musk owns about 79% of Twitter. The company is valued at about $20 billion as of March 2023.

In July 2023, Musk rebranded Twitter as X, replacing the blue bird logo with the letter.

"Going private" doesn't mean "owning it all". It just means the stock isn't traded on the usual markets and is kept close to the vest.

[former9thward]

12. All of the public stock was bought by Musk.

The judge could not keep it if he had it in the first place. I had shares and there was no option to keep. What financial arrangements Musk made with others after he bought out the stock is another matter.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. I linked to who ELSE owns stock meaning Musk does not own "100%"

as the poster I was replying to asserted. Full stop.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Could be opposite side. Perhaps he has involvement in Media Matters, or someone close does. . . nt

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Since Media Matters is a liberal outlet

and if that is the conflict, maybe it's a spouse or other close family member with a potential conflict... Am trying to fathom a 45-appointed judge within the 5th circuit area, even bothering.

[former9thward]

11. Stock holders could not keep it.

I was a stock holder and there was no option to keep it. Musk bought all the shares.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. Except shares owned by asset management/institutional investment companies

https://www.cnbctv18.com/business/companies/elon-musk-twitter-share-price-shareholding-pattern-major-shareholders-15036191.htm

[former9thward]

16. The implication and charge in this thread was the judge currently has twitter shares.

You can try and derail that discussion if you want but he does not own shares and you know it.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. All of that was specualation just like the speculation of whether he has interests in Media Matters

But the post that you decided to insert yourself into, was to correct the assertion that Musk had "100%" ownership of the shares of the company and he does not. You can ignore that fact all you want, but then that would not be surprising that you would.

[GregariousGroundhog]

21. My guess is Tesla stock is more likely n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

22. That seems to make sense too.

[SouthernDem4ever]

10. Maybe he's a magat that recognizes his own shortcomings

Of course, if that were tha case it would be a first.

[340ing]

15. He probably probably some anti-Soros anti-semitic thing somewhere

And he knows it will be found.

[WinstonSmith4740]

18. Calling Judge Cannon...

"Federal judges are mandated to recuse themselves when their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned,”

[Mr. Sparkle]

20. lol . It was widely believed that Elon went judge shopping when he filed in this court

It will be interesting to see who his replacement is.

[onenote]

23. His replacement is Reed O'Connor, a G W Bush appointee.

The Northern District of Texas is divided into four Duty Stations: Fort Worth, Dallas, Amarillo, and Lubbock. Musk filed in Fort Worth, where the assigned judges are Pittman and O'Connor. If he really was judge shopping he would have filed in Amarillo, which has only one assigned judge, the notorious Trump appointee Matthew Kacsmaryk or in Lubbock, which also has only one assigned judge, Trump appointee James Wesley Hendrix.