Judge Approves Twitter Whistleblower Claims to be Admissible in Trial, Denies Musk Delay Request

Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick approved a request by Elon Musk to add claims from a Twitter whistleblower to his countersuit against Twitter.

However, McCormick denied a request by Musk to delay the trial until mid-November, as it is scheduled to begin on Oct. 17.

Those rulings were made according to a new filing released today and reported on by CNBC, which has been covering the situation.

McCormick wrote that “I previously rejected Defendants’ arguments in response to Twitter’s motion to expedite, making clear that the longer the delay until trial, the greater the risk of irreparable harm to Twitter.”

“I am convinced that even four weeks’ delay would risk further harm to Twitter too great to justify,” McCormick insisted.

As we previously reported, the former head of security for Twitter, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko submitted a disclosure to U.S. Congress as well as other federal agencies last month regarding alleged major holes in Twitter’s security.

Musk’s team argued that Zatko’s claims would show Twitter breached the terms of the merger agreement, if true.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal sent a memo to employees shortly after the allegations became public which said that while they were still reviewing the complaint, it “is a false narrative that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and presented without important context.”

In a statement focusing on the whistleblower claims being admissible, Musk lawyer Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel said, “We are hopeful that winning the motion to amend takes us one step closer to the truth coming out in that courtroom.”

A Twitter spokesperson focused more on the court date ruling in a statement that said, “We look forward to presenting our case in Court beginning on October 17th and intend to close the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk.”

Tide could be Turning for Elon Musk as Former Twitter Security Chief Becomes Whistleblower, Claims Company is in Violation of an FTC Agreement, says Parag Agrawal is ‘Lying’