White House · Bloomberg · Elon Musk · Donald Trump · X · SEC · Ars Technica
Judge probes whether Musk settlement with Trump admin is tainted by corruption
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
A federal judge reportedly said she will not rubber-stamp a settlement between Elon Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying the deal raises red flags and needs scrutiny over whether Musk is getting special treatment from the Trump administration.
Key facts
- As they reported last week, the Trump administration agreed to let Musk pay a $1.5 million fine to settle a lawsuit that originally sought at least $150 million
- In 2022, before buying Twitter outright, Musk purchased a 9 percent stake in the social network and failed to disclose it within 10 days as required under US law
- Under the settlement with the SEC, a trust in Musk’s name would pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to the government and not admit that Musk committed any violation
- The SEC filed the lawsuit in January 2025 with only days remaining in the Biden presidency
Summary
As they reported last week, the Trump administration agreed to let Musk pay a $1.5 million fine to settle a lawsuit that originally sought at least $150 million. Under the settlement with the SEC, a trust in Musk’s name would pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to the government and not admit that Musk committed any violation. “I am not going to rubber-stamp this settlement, and I cannot rubber-stamp this settlement,” the judge said, Bloomberg reported. Sooknanan said that dropping the demand for $150 million and imposing the settlement terms on a trust instead of Musk himself are both “red flags,” a said.