(Reuters) – Representative Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House of Representatives’ legal committee, sent a letter to the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday asking the agency to keep records related to Elon Musk’s pending acquisition of Twitter Inc.
The request indicates that Rep. Jordan can investigate the FTC’s merger review.
In particular, Rep. Jordan expressed concern over statements by the Open Markets Institute, which he called “an extreme left-wing political lobbying organization”, and its call on the FTC to stop the deal.
“We are concerned that OMI – where you were previously employed as Legal Director ̵
1; may seek to take advantage of its close relationship with you to take steps to further restrict freedom of expression online,” the rep wrote. Jordan.FTC Chairman Lina Khan was Legal Director from 2017-2018 at OMI, describing herself on her website as working “to address threats to our democracy, individual freedoms and our national security from today’s unprecedented levels of concentration and monopoly power. “
Rep. Jordan has supported Musk’s purchase of Twitter in the hope that some conservatives, such as former President Donald Trump, who was removed from the social media platform, could return.
OMI issued a statement last month on how it said the government could block the purchase of Twitter.
There is little expectation that Mr. Musk’s potential purchase of Twitter will be rejected by antitrust founders.
The FTC acknowledged receipt of the letter but declined to comment further. Tesla, the electric car company that Musk is CEO of, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. OMI could not be reached immediately for comment.
Mr Musk, the world’s richest man and an active and alleged Twitter user, signed a $ 44 billion deal to buy Twitter at the end of April.
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