Media Matters for America filed suit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block an investigation launched by the Federal Trade Commission. The investigation is the latest effort by Elon Musk and his allies in the Trump administration to retaliate against Media Matters for its reporting on X, the social media site Musk controls, and it’s another example of the Trump administration weaponizing government authorities to target political opponents. The suit alleges that the FTC has violated Media Matters’ First Amendment rights by retaliating against the organization for its reporting on Elon Musk and X.
The FTC investigation, which the commission launched while Musk was still leading the Department of Government Efficiency and before his public fallout with the president, mirrors similar probes by Republican state attorneys general that federal courts have already taken steps to block. In one of those cases, a federal appeals court wrote in May that “Media Matters is the target of a government campaign of retaliation."
“The Trump administration has demonstrated that it will not hesitate to abuse the powers of the federal government to undermine the First Amendment and stifle dissent. This highly politicized FTC investigation is part of that playbook," said Angelo Carusone, Chairman and President of Media Matters. “This is a significant free speech issue, and Media Matters will not back down from this fight. If the Trump administration is allowed to use this unlawful investigation to punish legitimate reporting on behalf of a political ally, then there is nothing to stop it from targeting anyone who stands up and exercises their rights."
Musk has led a coordinated assault on Media Matters since November 2023, when the group published a report showing that X was displaying ads beside pro-Nazi posts. In response, X filed lawsuits against Media Matters in multiple jurisdictions. Republican attorneys general in Texas and Missouri launched their own investigations after being publicly encouraged to do so by now-White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Musk’s campaign against Media Matters has extended to attacks on his own companies: As recently as Friday, Musk vowed to update his own AI chatbot, Grok, after it stated publicly that Media Matters reporting helps it provide users with accurate and impartial responses.
The chairman of the FTC, Andrew Ferguson, campaigned for the job during the presidential transition by promising to “investigate and prosecute” what he calls advertiser boycotts. But journalism and advocacy are protected speech under the First Amendment. Trump legal adviser Mike Davis, who is also a close friend of Ferguson’s, has called Media Matters a “cancer to free speech” and threatened to throw two of its researchers in a gulag.
The FTC’s investigation was launched after Trump fired the two Democratic commissioners on the FTC which, according to Politico, was part of firings specifically targeting Democratic members of federal commissions. Since then, a Trump-appointed Republican commissioner, who has publicly supported attacks on Media Matters, was confirmed which leaves the five-seat FTC with only three members — all Republicans — rendering the commission completely politicized and free from its usual checks and balances.
In the complaint filed in federal district court, Media Matters outlines the harm that the organization has suffered as a result of the cascade of litigation launched by Musk and his allies, including a disruption to its fundraising and cash flow. The complaint describes how the commission’s actions violate the First Amendment by retaliating against Media Matters for its speech.
“Elon Musk has made clear he wants to destroy Media Matters, and by launching this investigation his allies in the Trump administration are helping do his dirty work,” Carusone said. “Nothing less than the right of every American to exercise their First Amendment right to speak truth to power is at stake in this case."
The complaint filed by Media Matters is available here. Media Matters is represented by Dana Remus and Stephen Anthony of Covington & Burling and Justin Nelson of Susman Godfrey.