Elon Musk seeks to end SEC 'muzzle' requiring pre-approval of tweets

NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters): Elon Musk's lawyers urged a federal appeals court to throw out a provision in his 2018 consent decree with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requiring a Tesla Inc lawyer to vet some of his posts on Twitter.
In a brief filed late on Tuesday with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, lawyers for Musk called the pre-approval mandate a "government-imposed muzzle" that inhibited and chilled his lawful speech on a broad range of topics.
They also said the requirement violated the US Constitution, and undermined public policy by running "contrary to the American principles of free speech and open debate."
The SEC declined to comment on Wednesday. It is expected to file its own brief with the appeals court.
Musk wants to overturn part of an April 27 decision by US District Judge Lewis Liman that rejected his bid to throw out the consent decree altogether.
Liman said Musk's arguments amounted to a "bemoaning" of requirements he no longer wanted to adhere to now that "his company has become, in his estimation, all but invincible."