A judge is investigating whether Musk’s settlement with the Trump administration is corrupt

A federal judge has said that he will not uphold the agreement between Elon Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying that the agreement raises red flags and needs to be reviewed if Musk is receiving special treatment from the Trump administration.

Like us report last weekTrump’s administration agreed that Musk should pay a fine of $ 1.5 million to settle the case that originally demanded at least $ 150 million. In 2022, before buying Twitter directly, Musk bought 9 percent of the social network and failed to disclose within 10 days according to US law. The SEC lawsuit filed against the Biden administration said the late disclosures allowed Musk to buy shares at low prices and those earning less than $150 million.

Under the agreement with the SEC, relying on Musk’s name will impose a civil penalty of $ 1.5 million on the government and not admit that Musk has violated anything. The deal requires court approval, and Judge Sparkle Sooknanan expressed skepticism at a hearing yesterday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

“I don’t tread rubber in this place, and I can’t,” said the judge, Bloomberg. report. “Is Musk getting special treatment for this?” Sooknanan was also quoted as saying.

Sooknanan said dropping the $150 million requirement and putting the judgments on the trust instead of Musk himself are both “red flags,” a Reuters report he said. “Sooknanan also noted that SEC lawyers at the hearing to discuss the matter appeared surprised when Musk’s lawyers revealed that they had consulted with the agency,” Reuters reported. Sooknanan called this fact another red flag.