Trump admin's crusade to investigate liberal group dealt another major court blow

A federal appeals court on Thursday left in place a stay on the Federal Trade Commission's controversial investigation into liberal investigative group Media Matters, dealing yet another blow to the Trump administration's crusade to go after critics with the power of government.

In the three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Judges Patricia Millett and Robert Wilkins, both appointees of former President Barack Obama, ruled to keep the stay in place, over the dissent of Trump-appointed Judge Justin Walker.

The Federal Trade Commission, under Trump-appointed chair Andrew Ferguson, launched an investigation into Media Matters after they published research showing that tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform routinely placed ads next to antisemitic and pro-Nazi content, which triggered a widespread advertiser boycott. Ferguson's investigation purports to review whether Media Matters engaged in illegal collusion with advertisers to deprive X of revenue. The investigation has caused severe financial damage to the organization.

Media Matters sued to block the investigation, citing the unprecedented nature of this action and the fact that Ferguson has openly attacked fact-checking efforts, claiming that "disinformation" is just "Orwellian newspeak for ideas that Silicon Valley and progressives don’t like."

U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, agreed, calling the FTC's actions a "straightforward First Amendment violation." The majority of the appellate court found no reason to overrule the lower court.

"Media Matters has documented the concrete harms to its speech activities it is currently suffering with the Commission’s Demand hanging over its head," the opinion wrote. "Furthermore, the language of the Demand, on its face, appears to require Media Matters to disclose information that may implicate the First Amendment reporter’s privilege."

Walker, in a lengthy dissent, complained extensively that the FTC has a right to investigate these matters and specifically defended Ferguson's "Orwellian newspeak" line, writing, "Not once in the interview did Ferguson say that 'progressives' should be punished for what they believe. Rather, he chided 'progressives' in the Biden Administration for punishing others for what others believe."