A short excerpt from Friday's long decision by Judge Sparkle Sooknanan (D.D.C.) in Media Matters for America v. FTC:
Speech on matters of public concern is the heartland of the First Amendment. The principle that public issues should be debated freely has long been woven into the very fabric of who we are as a Nation. Without it, our democracy stands on shaky ground. It should alarm all Americans when the Government retaliates against individuals or organizations for engaging in constitutionally protected public debate. And that alarm should ring even louder when the Government retaliates against those engaged in newsgathering and reporting.
This case presents a straightforward First Amendment violation. Media Matters for America is a nonprofit media company that is over two decades old. In November 2023, it ran a story reporting that as a result of Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter (now "X"), advertisements on the social media platform were appearing next to antisemitic posts and other offensive content. Mr. Musk immediately promised to file "a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters." And he followed through. In the weeks and months that followed, X Corp. and its subsidiaries sued Media Matters all over the world, at least until a federal district court preliminarily enjoined this aggressive litigation strategy. Meanwhile, seemingly at the behest of Steven Miller, the current White House Deputy Chief of Staff, the Missouri and Texas Attorneys General issued civil investigative demands (CIDs) to Media Matters, both of which were preliminarily enjoined in this Court as likely being retaliatory in violation of the First Amendment.
But these court victories did not end the fight for Media Matters. Now the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken up the cause. After Andrew Ferguson took on his new role as the Chairman of the FTC, the agency issued a sweeping CID to Media Matters, purportedly to investigate an advertiser boycott concerning social media platforms. That CID should have come as no surprise.
Before President Trump selected him to head the FTC, Mr. Ferguson appeared on Steve Bannon's podcast, where he said that it is "really important that the FTC take investigative steps in the new administration under President Trump" because "progressives" and others who are "fighting "disinformation" were "not going to give up just because of the election." One of his supporters, Mike Davis, who urged President Trump to nominate him to the role, made several public comments about Media Matters, including that Mr. Musk should "nuke" the media company. And after taking the reins, Chairman Ferguson brought on several senior staffers at the FTC who previously made public comments about Media Matters.
Media Matters brought this lawsuit to challenge the FTC's CID, alleging that it is retaliatory in violation of the First Amendment and that it is overbroad in violation of the Fourth and First Amendments. Before the Court is a motion seeking preliminary injunctive relief from the CID. The Court agrees that a preliminary injunction is warranted….
