Elon Musk accuses Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal of destroying evidence
Just before Elon Musk revived his offer to buy Twitter, he accused Twitter of destroying evidence, released court documents from October 3 have revealed. The billionaire alleged that Twitter's officials ordered whistleblower Peiter Zatko to destroy evidence as part of his $7.8 million severance agreement. Zatko was the former head of security at Twitter who made serious allegations about the company's lax security measures.
Why does this story matter?
Zatko's claims about Twitter rocked the company which was already reeling under pressure from Musk's withdrawal. But things have changed rather quickly. Musk has done a complete reversal and has agreed to buy Twitter. And the same time, Musk's lawyers have asked Delaware Chancery Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick to sanction Twitter's legal team for the destruction of potential evidence in the case.
Zatko destroyed notebooks, computer files as part of severance package
Zatko admitted to destroying 10 handwritten notebooks and 100 computer files as part of his $7.8 million severance package according to the unsealed documents. He said that the books contained details of his meetings with company officials during his year-long tenure as Twitter's security head. Musk's lawyers alleged that Twitter destroyed corroborating evidence of Zatko's allegations by making him do this.
Musk's lawyers asked the court to punish Twitter's attorneys
Zatko's allegations against Twitter have been central to Musk's argument that Twitter tried to hide important operational details from him. On October 3, Musk's lawyers accused Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, its top lawyers, Vijaya Gadde and Sean Edgett, and Chief Privacy Officer Damien Kieran of covering up violations of court settlements. The attorneys asked the court to punish Twitter's lawyers for destroying potential evidence.
Twitter ensured the destruction of Zatko's corroborating evidence: Musk's lawyers
As per the court filing, Musk's lawyers said, "Twitter's attempt to buy Mr. Zatko's silence failed, but Twitter achieved its secondary aim of ensuring Mr. Zatko's corroborating evidence would never come to light." They added that document destruction deprived Musk's team of "critical corroborating evidence of Mr. Zatko's allegations, which would support his account of key meetings and conversations relevant to this case."
