Trump legal woes, Tesla mystery, publishing antitrust case: 3 legal stories to watch

·Senior Legal Reporter

Updated 22 August 2022 at 3:58 pm·4-min read

In legal business news this week, Yahoo Finance is watching for rulings by two federal judges. One involves a case over publishing industry market share, and another will decide how much of a search warrant affidavit authorizing the raid on Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home will be made public.

We're also following a mystery surrounding the reported departure of Tesla's top legal executive, David Searle.

The U.S. versus Big Books

A federal judge’s decision in Washington, DC could derail or green light a $2.2 billion merger between publishing powerhouses Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster.

The two publishers defended the tie-up against the U.S. Justice Department in a three-week trial that ended Friday. Prosecutors argue that consolidation would jeopardize the market for acquiring top manuscripts that offer authors advance payments of $250,000 and up and dwindle consumers' choices for books. The publishers counter that argument by contending the industry is replete with competition; they also say the merger would enable traditional publishers to compete with digital giants like Amazon and Disney.

The stakes are high. A win for the companies would reduce the number of U.S. publishers from five to four and put Penguin Random House in control of close to half the market for publishing rights acquisitions.

The FBI's search of Trump's home

Within days the world could learn more specifically why a federal judge granted the Justice Department’s unprecedented search on former president Donald Trump’s Florida home. The judge, asked by a group of news organizations to unseal details in the warrant’s accompanying affidavit, has said he’d consider the request. The judge set a Thursday deadline for the Justice Department to propose redactions that could also allow for the document to be released while keeping sensitive information secret.

On Monday, a court filing detailed the judge’s rationale for considering the document's release, saying the government had not satisfied its burden to show that the entire document, which is of intense public interest, should be shielded from public view.

The ordeal is unfolding against a high-profile criminal case and investigation bearing down on Trump’s family real estate business. The Trump Organization sustained a significant blow last week when its longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg entered into a plea deal in a case where he was named as a co-defendant with the company.

Weisselberg admitted to committing 15 counts of fraud while serving as the organization's CFO and agreed to testify when the company stands trial in October. That testimony could also feed into an ongoing investigation into the Trump Organization's business loan and insurance filings now being conducted by the New York Attorney General's office.

The three page itemized list of property seized in the execution of a search warrant by the FBI at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is seen after being released by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 12, 2022. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

Mystery over report of Tesla departure

A mystery is brewing over one of Tesla's top executives, David Searle, its head of legal.

A Bloomberg report published Wednesday said Searle parted ways with the electric-vehicle manufacturer, though Tesla (TSLA) disputed the report in a Tweet that called the article "false."

Searle's departure, if true, could add to shareholder concerns that the company is under-equipped to look out for its best legal interests. Tesla has relied on acting chief legal employees since 2019 to fill the typical c-suite role of general counsel. And Bloomberg reports that at least a dozen company attorneys from multiple departments have left their roles this year.

According to multiple reports, Searle had also been overseeing an internal investigation into suspicious purchases of a special glass material made by key Tesla executive Omead Afshar. Searle's LinkedIn page continues to reflect his role as acting head of legal and corporate security at Tesla.

The potential of another departure from Tesla's legal ranks comes ahead of CEO Elon Musk's high-stakes trial in October that will determine whether he can back out of his $44 billion agreement to acquire Twitter.

Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed.

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The U.S. versus Big Books

The FBI's search of Trump's home

Mystery over report of Tesla departure

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