The Texas judge presiding over social media company X's lawsuit against advertisers has recused himself from the case after news broke that he owned shares in Tesla.
In a Tuesday recusal notice obtained by CNBC, U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth took himself off of X's case against the World Federation of Advertisers without giving a reason. The suit was filed last week.
Elon Musk, who is the CEO and largest shareholder in Tesla, owns X, which was known as Twitter until the tech billionaire acquired it two years ago.
Citing the judge's last available financial disclosure filing, NPR reported on Monday that he had owned between "$15,001 and $50,000" of Tesla stock as of 2022.
Newsmax has reached out to the Fort Worth division of the Northern District of Texas U.S. District Court for comment.
In X's complaint, the social media company accused a number of advertisers who pulled ads from the site of illegal conspiracy. Brands Unilever, Mars, CVS Healthcare, and European brand Orsted are among those named.
The World Federation of Advertisers said last week that it would dissolve its brand safety nonprofit initiative, known as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, in response to the suit.
A former aide to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and a former federal prosecutor, O'Connor was appointed to the bench by former President George W. Bush in 2007.
He is reportedly a member of the influential conservative legal group the Federalist Society and remains the judge in another lawsuit filed by X in November against Media Matters for America.
According to CNBC, the new judge assigned to X's case against the World Federation of Advertisers, Judge Ed Kinkeade, issued an order on Tuesday that said either party would need to justify requests to the court to keep submitted files sealed and out of the public eye.
Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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