Elon Musk is the subject of a US investigation linked to the Twitter agreement: filing in court

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WILMINGTON — Elon Musk is under federal investigation into his $44 billion takeover deal for Twitter Inc, the social media company said in a court filing released Thursday.

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Twitter said it had asked Musk’s lawyers for months to produce their communications with federal authorities, but they had failed to do so, and asked a Delaware judge to order the lawyers to provide the documents.

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In late September, Musk’s attorneys provided a « log of privileges » identifying documents not to be disclosed. The newspaper was referring to drafts of a May 13 email to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a slide presentation to the Federal Trade Commission, Twitter said.

« This ‘hide the ball’ game must stop, » the company said in the court filing.

A lawyer for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Twitter’s lawsuit was filed on Oct. 6, the same day the Delaware judge ended the litigation to allow Twitter and Musk to complete the takeover deal.

The SEC questioned Musk’s comments on the Twitter acquisition. In April, the SEC asked Musk if disclosing his 9% stake on Twitter was late and why it indicated he intended to be a passive shareholder. Musk then refiled the disclosure to indicate he was an active investor.

In June, the SEC asked Musk in a letter whether he should have amended his public filing to reflect his intention to suspend or exit the deal.

The SEC and FTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.