Musk accused the SEC of leaking information about a federal investigation in order to retaliate against him for public criticism of the federal financial regulators.
Alex Spiro wrote to the judge that the Commission was out to retaliate against his clients for exercising their First Amendment rights.
The letter came four days after Musk accused the SEC of trying to chill his right to free speech, and neglecting their duty to pay the $40 million in fines that Musk and his company paid for securities fraud.
Spiro didn't specify which investigation or what type of information may have been leaked by the SEC. He alleged in the letter that at least one member of the SEC had leaked certain information about the investigation without providing any evidence.
Spiro could not be reached for comment. The SEC did not reply immediately.
The SEC charged Musk with making false and misleading statements to investors after he wrote on social media that he had secured enough funding to take the company private. The deal Musk talked about never materialized.
Musk was forced to step down as chairman for at least three years as part of the revised settlement agreement the agency reached with the automaker and CEO in 2019. The company had to put in place a system for monitoring Musk's statements to the public on any medium.
The SEC was making progress on disbursing the $40 million to shareholders according to the agency's spokesman. The task was complex and he noted that both Musk andTesla had never expressed concern about the issue before. The SEC staff expects to submit a plan of distribution to the court by the end of March 2022, he wrote.
If Musk objected to any subpoena, his attorneys should address that in a different motion, as Nathan and the revised settlement agreement had called for. There is a different federal statutory scheme for objecting to a subpoena.
The SEC subpoenaed the company in November of 2021. The agency is seeking information on its governance processes around compliance with the SEC settlement.
Spiro wrote a letter on Monday about the subpoena. The Commission demanded documents regarding my clients' disclosure controls and procedures, executive communications policy, external communications policy, other policies or procedures relating to public statements.
He said the SEC issued a similar subpoena to Musk.
Shortly after the subpoena was issued, Musk asked his millions of followers if he should sell 10% of his stake in the company. They voted yes. A large part of the sales that followed the poll were part of Musk's plan.
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