Posted on 07/11/2022 7:46:11 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Appearing on Media Buzz with Howie Kurtz on Fox News to discuss Elon Musk’s refusal to move forward with his acquisition of Twitter, Fox Business Network correspondent Charles Gasparino mentioned the f-word: fraud. Stating that if Musk’s contention is correct, that Twitter has been lying about the prevalence of bots in its traffic since its IPO in 2013, that would constitute securities fraud, and could land Jack Dorsey and other executives at Twitter in prison.
On the other hand, Musk could face incarceration if he loses his case now that Twitter has hired a legal team to attempt to force him to complete the transaction as earlier agreed upon, and if Musk refuses to obey a court order to proceed with the acquisition.
Transcript excerpts via The Right Scoop:
“Here’s what I will say, Howie. That this is a huge, huge story because if Elon Musk is right, if Twitter since its IPO in 2013 has been lying about its bots, you know, those fake accounts, that it’s not 5% or less. If they’ve been putting out public statements of that nature that are lies … man, that’s called securities fraud, That means jack Dorsey and all the other guys that are running, have run Twitter can go to jail.”
“IF that can be proven,” Howard Kurtz emphasized.
“If that can be proven. If it’s wrong, right, if Elon is wrong, a federal judge — if he’s just making this up, and, you know, remember, he waived due diligence, he said last and final offer, he didn’t do anything pre-bidding to basically back up his claim — If he is wrong and if they’re right about the bots being 5%, a federal judge could make him buy this deal at the agreed-upon, at the price he put up,
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
They’re hiding something.
Maybe Twitter is a FedGov operation.
Disputes like this often end in a negotiated settlement between the two parties, with jail not an issue.
My best guess is Elon Musk gets to buy Twitter at a much lower price eventually.
Disputes like this often end in a negotiated settlement between the two parties, with jail not an issue.
My best guess is Elon Musk gets to buy Twitter at a much lower price eventually.
Interesting. Thanks for posting.
What a Great Idea!
Suspect you are right, and Musk knew it all along.
Its a private matter.. in terms of the buy or not buy... that’s civil court...
It would be up to the SEC to decide to take Twitter to court for criminal fraud if it is proven they lie about their user base etc....
Anyone want to lay odds that the DOJ is going to prosecute anyone at twitter for lying under this administration (or any other for that matter)?
Frog march him out of Twitter’s headquarters. Before he buys some out of the country villa.
Bigly. Same for Fakebook.
Expect Elon had this planned out before the first offer.
Funny how it’s been a catty back-and-forth for months.
E: “I’ll buy Twitter.”
T: “No you won’t not ever.”
E: “You don’t have a choice, stock is public for purchase.”
T: “We’ll fite you.”
E: “Ok, I won’t buy.”
T: “Wait, you MUST make an offer. You own too much to stop now.”
E: “Ok, here’s enough to make shareholders happy to sell.”
T: “Not enough.”
E: “Ok, I won’t buy.”
T: “But you PROMISED.”
E: “Ok, I’ll buy but you have to show me the true bot count.”
T: “What bots? there are no bots.”
E: “Half of users are bots. No sale.”
T: “Oh, ha ha, THOSE bots.”
E: “You’re still hiding the true bot count.”
T: “Doesn’t matter, you MUST buy.”
E: “Bot count?”
T: “No.”
E: “I’m out. Bye.”
T: “But you PROMISED.”
E: [walks away]
T: “We’ll SUE!”
E: “Oh, good, you’ll have to show a judge the true bot count.”
...and the saga continues.
Elon himself posted a meme today summarizing this.
Devaluing Twitter was Musk’s game from the start of offering the deal. If Twitter has a low value if he actually gets it, then there’s room for him to grow it and profit along with shareholders from a low point. It wouldn’t be the first buyout that he has done as an investor.
Yes. Jail time for Dorsey and lots of decision makers at Twatter.
Didn’t twitter refuse to hand over the information necessary to determine the prevalence of bots?
If so, is Twitter on the hook for $1 billion break up fee to Musk?
Seems to me like Musk has the upper hand here. Likely a court will either back Musk or order Twitter to hand over the information. Either way I see Twitter losing.
This is why Twitter corporate DOES NOT want a discovery phase in any lawsuit. We could find out the number of "bot" accounts and how they work with the Feds to influence opinion.
Anyone want to lay odds that the DOJ is going to prosecute anyone at twitter for lying under this administration (or any other for that matter)?
Very good point. I've said this same thing previously. However, there's another angle to this that doesn't involve the SEC. Twitter's shareholders have all the legal standing they need to pursue separate legal action against the Twitter board for securities fraud. And the SEC may be compelled to act if these shareholders make a strong case.
It's worth noting that at almost every step in this process, Twitter's board has been forced to act against its own declared intentions under threat of lawsuits by two of its major shareholders -- namely, the governors of Texas and Florida (acting as fiduciaries for their state pension funds). This is how Musk's purchase offer ended up being accepted by the Twitter board even after they had previously rejected it, for example.
The last thing Dorsey wants I’d Discovery during a trial. Twitter has been covering up its business operations.
Dorsey himself admits that Twitter got full of bots AFTER he was out of powerSo he says. Then it must be true.< /sarcasm >
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