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The judge overseeing X’s lawsuit against advertisers has recused himself following a news report that showed he previously owned shares of Tesla.
In a recusal notice dated Aug. 13, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas backed out of X’s case against the World Federation of Advertisers, which was filed last week. The judge didn’t say why he was removing himself from the suit.
X, formerly known as Twitter, is owned by Elon Musk, who is also the CEO and largest shareholder in Tesla. On Monday, NPR reported that O’Connor had owned shares of Tesla in 2022, the date of his last available disclosure, posing a potential conflict of interest.
Calls for comment to the court’s clerk weren’t immediately returned.
In X’s lawsuit, the company accused a number of advertisers of engaging in antitrust behavior when they stopped ad campaigns on the site. Companies named include Unilever, Mars, CVS Healthcare and Orsted in Europe.
In response to the suit, the WFA said it was suspending the operations of its Global Alliance for Responsible Media nonprofit initiative.
O’Connor is a former aide to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and a former federal prosecutor in North Texas.
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