Key findings from the order:

• As Judge Mehta found, Media Matters was the target of politically motivated “retaliatory actions” by law enforcement that “abridged” our “protected speech” and our rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
• The U.S. District Court also confirmed that Media Matters’ reporting constituted “protected speech” and that this had been confirmed by other media outlets and even by X Corp.
• According to Judge Mehta “The most heinous act that a democratic government can commit is is to use its law enforcement apparatus for political purposes.’ … This is obvious what happened here.”
• The U.S. District Court confirmed that AG Bailey’s own “public statements were direct evidence of an intent to retaliate” against Media Matters and that “retaliation for protected speech was likely his true motive for investigating Media Matters.”

On the same day that X Corp. filed a baseless lawsuit against Media Matters for America for an accurate report on the platform’s extremism, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a similarly flimsy investigation into MMFA under Texas’s Deceptive Business Practices Act. Paxton then issued an over-the-top and invasive civil investigative order – despite the fact that Media Matters has no relevant connection to Texas. On April 12, 2024, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta granted Media Matters a temporary restraining order against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Weeks after Paxton made his demand, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey claimed he would launch his own investigation into Media Matters. Bailey eventually filed a civil discovery demand against the organization on March 25, 2024 – despite the fact that Media Matters has no relevant connection to Missouri. According to Bailey himself, he is coordinating his “war” against Media Matters with Paxton and his demand in Missouri is “virtually identical” to Paxton’s demand in Texas. On April 24, 2024, Judge Mehta allowed Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to appear as a defendant in Media Matters’ lawsuit against Paxton.

The nonpartisan US Press Freedom Tracker, which catalogs violations of press freedom in the United States, recently added incident reports related to the investigations by the Texas Attorney General and the Missouri Attorney General to its database.