A deposition scheduled for next week could significantly steer the outcome of Twitter’s (TWTR) trial-bound case to force Elon Musk to follow through on his $44 billion deal to acquire the social network.
Peiter Zatko, Twitter’s former cybersecurity chief turned company whistleblower, is scheduled to offer deposition testimony in the case on Wednesday.
Zatko, a respected hacker known as Mudge who was let go from his position at Twitter in January, upended Twitter’s fast-tracked Delaware lawsuit last week by filing a report that accused the company’s senior executives of illegally tolerating substandard cybersecurity and user account protocols. The report led Musk to invoke additional arguments for terminating the merger and request a delay to the trial, which is scheduled to begin on October 17.
In his 200-plus page report filed with U.S. regulators and made public last week, Zatko said he personally brought the alleged deficiencies to the attention of Twitter’s management team. If proven, that claim could provide Musk with a legally valid exit from the parties’ $44 billion merger agreement.
Yale Law School professor Yair Listokin said Zatko’s deposition testimony could bolster particular arguments set forth by Musk, depending on how much evidence he has to back up his claims.
“It has to make Twitter seem like a fraud and a scam in order for Musk to win,” Listokin said. “But if it's bad enough, it can change the case.”
Zatko alleges Twitter and certain...
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