The judge presiding over Elon Musk’s lawsuit against the progressive media watchdog Media Matters has recused himself.
Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court of Northern Texas has formally asked to be moved off the case and for another judge to preside over the lawsuit, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Judges are required by law to recuse themselves from cases when their impartiality may come into question, whether that be from personal bias or financial interest. It’s not entirely clear why Judge Pittman, who was appointed to his post by former President Donald Trump, recused himself.
The tech billionaire sued Media Matters last week after the watchdog published a report criticizing Mr. Musk’s X platform. According to the report, several high-profile advertisements were appearing next to neo-Nazi and other content they didn’t like.
Mr. Musk and his lawyers have rejected the findings in the report and have accused Media Matters of manipulating data to make X look bad and drive advertisers away.
Mr. Musk lashed out at the advertisers this week, saying if a company wanted to participate in an “advertiser boycott” it could “go f—- yourself.”
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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