Elon Musk's attorney accuses SEC of leaking information of probe
An counsel for Elon Musk accused the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a letter to a judge of leaking facts of its probe, the latest in an ongoing struggle between the regulatory body and the world's richest person.
The SEC achieved settlements with Tesla and its chief executive officer in September 2018 after suing Musk over his controversial "funding secured" tweets in which he claimed to have investor backing for taking Tesla private for US$420 a share.
Earlier this month, Tesla stated in a regulatory filing that the agency asked information regarding the company's governance practices and compliance with the agreements on Nov 16.
Alex Spiro, Musk's outside counsel, alleged in a letter last week that the SEC was pursuing Musk with "unrelenting investigation" because the CEO is "an outspoken critic of the government".
"After I submitted the Feb 17, 2022 letter to this court about the commission's conduct, at least one member of the SEC staff responded by leaking specific material regarding its inquiry," Spiro stated in a fresh letter Monday (Feb 21). (Feb 21). "This leak is symptomatic of the vindictive, unlawful conduct that provoked my letter: the SEC is retaliating against Mr Musk and Tesla, without responding to the restraints of principle or law in so doing."
Spiro said that in a separate letter, he has requested particular SEC staff to "preserve their records and equipment" and has referred the situation to the SEC Office of Inspector General. Press officers for the SEC didn't immediately reply to a request for comment on the submission, which came on a federal holiday. Tesla closed Friday at US$856.98 in New York trade.
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