Cruz, Jordan Pen Scathing Letter to FTC on Its Investigation of Musk Buying Twitter

By Becca Lower | 6:45 PM on March 10, 2023

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It’s an investigation of the investigation. That’s according to Axios, which reported Friday that it obtained a copy of a new letter from Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ranking member, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), co-signed by House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), to the chair of the Federal Trade Commission.

The Senate committee writes that the scathing letter involves the federal agency’s “inappropriate and burdensome demands,” as part of its deep-dive into Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter:

.@SenTedCruz & @Jim_Jordan push back at FTC for inappropriate and burdensome demands coinciding with Elon Musk’s acquisition of @Twitter. https://t.co/hDuHOm2wEp

— Senate Commerce Republicans (@SenateCommerce) March 10, 2023

The “FTC’s legal authority does not include dictating entire swaths of corporate behavior under the guise of consent decree enforcement,” Jordan and Cruz wrote in a Friday letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan that was obtained by Axios.

“Nor could it justify infringing on the First Amendment… Congress will not tolerate any retaliation against whistleblowers.”

…

The letter asks for documents and communications with FTC officials, employees or consultants relating to the Twitter investigation or Musk’s purchase of Twitter.

It also asks the FTC to “explain, in writing, your justification” for asking Twitter to provide the names of members of the media who have been granted access to Twitter’s internal communications and documents.

The Axios report goes on to explain that “the FTC has sent more than a dozen letters to Twitter since Elon Musk took over, requesting information about recent layoffs as well as details on the firm’s sharing of internal documents with journalists,” something which unsurprisingly has raised eyebrows for members of the Judiciary Committee.

Good to see conservative lawmakers like Cruz and Jordan working to hold the Biden administration accountable for possible bullying of Musk, just as he’s trying to get Twitter on solid footing. We’ll keep you posted on this effort as it moves forward.