A federal court in Washington, D.C., on Friday shut down Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to open a sweeping investigation into watchdog group Media Matters over an unfavorable report it published about billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, now X.
The three-judge panel ruled that Paxton’s attempt to force Media Matters to turn over a slew of sensitive documents amounted to retaliation and a violation of the organization’s First Amendment rights. The probe would have caused “irreparable injury” to the nonprofit group, Senior Circuit Judge Harry T. Edwards wrote in the majority opinion.
The court fight stemmed from an investigation Paxton opened into Media Matters in November 2023 after the group’s report that Musk’s Texas-based social media site X allowed advertising from Apple, Bravo, IBM and other major brands to run next to white nationalist and antisemitic content.
Musk, a Texas resident and key ally of President Donald Trump, called the article a “fraudulent attack” on X and promised to unleash a “thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters.” He’s since filed multiple legal claims against the group, which subsequently sued back over what it called “a vendetta-driven campaign of libel tourism.”
Four days after the article’s publication, Paxton referred to Media Matters as a “radical anti-free speech organization” and insisted it turn over documents related to Musk and X so his office could determine whether the nonprofit violated Texas laws shielding consumers from fraud.
Paxton — a right-wing crusader who spoke at Trump’s Jan. 6 Washington rally — also demanded Media Matters share documents about its internal operations, funding sources, reporting processes, structure and expenditures, court documents show.
In April 2024, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta granted a preliminary injunction barring Paxton from moving ahead with his demand for documents. However, the attorney general appealed the decision.
In the D.C. appeals court’s Friday decision, Edwards said Paxton targeted Media Matters in retaliation for reporting on a story that serves the public interest. He also argued that the attorney general’s probe would cause adverse effects on the group’s ongoing reporting work.
“In this case, there is uncontested evidence of Paxton’s retaliatory motive in investigating Media Matters,” the judge wrote. “Although Paxton certainly has an interest in enforcing a Texas law designed to protect Texas consumers, the government may not ‘act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends.'”
Last week, the Washington Post reported that Media Matters received a civil investigative demand letter from the Trump administration’s Federal Trade Commission about its reporting on X. Such letters are often used in FTC investigations of organizations that may have violated federal regulations, according to the paper.
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This article appears in May 29 – Jun 11, 2025.
