Fresh off getting felony securities fraud charges against him dropped, the AG with an apparent phobia of testifying under oath did his part to harass Media Matters for daring to research and report on Twitter/X extremism.
Paxton’s authoritarian effort to stifle political speech he doesn't like couldn’t have been more blatant. Days after Media Matters published a report exposing Twitter/X’s placement of ads for major companies next to pro-Nazi content, with screen grabs backing up the reporting, owner Elon Musk filed a dubious lawsuit in Texas federal court for defamation against Media Matters alleging it manipulated information in order to defame his company. That same day, Paxton made the Orwellian announcement that his office would investigate Media Matters “closely to ensure that the public has not been deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing organizations who would like nothing more than to limit freedom by reducing participation in the public square.”
Paxton issued a demand for a host of Media Matters records, including internal and external communications about Musk’s purchase of X; CEO Linda Yaccarino and Media Matters’ sources of income and expenditures in Texas. Media Matters sued for an injunction in federal court in Washington, D.C. and won.
Federal Judge Amit Mehta called Media Matters’ reporting “core First Amendment activities” and described Paxton’s demand as a “retaliatory action sufficient to deter” Media Matters’ First Amendment work. The judge prohibited Paxton from taking any steps to enforce his demand.
Media Matters President and CEO Angelo Carusone said the judge’s decision is “a victory for free speech.”
It is that, indeed.
