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> Supermicro's stock took a beating and now they will have a legal case against Bloomberg.

Under the First Amendment Supermicro would have to prove actual malice—that is that Bloomberg knee its reporting was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. That’s a very difficult standard to meet.

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Could they subpoena Bloomberg for their sources and sue them?

IANAL, but this website mentions Chobani sued Alex Jones / InfoWars over allegedly defamatory, fictitious statements. [0] Perhaps Bloomberg can be sued for defamation by Supermicro if discovery can turn up evidence that the story was both malicious and intentional.

0. https://www.robertreeveslaw.com/blog/sued-fake-news/

The answer is complicated but boils down to: probably not. Both California and New York (the two most plausible jurisdictions for such a suit) have shield laws that create a qualified reporter’s privilege. That’s in addition to the constitutional news gathering privilege, if any (it’s an area where the case law is not entirely settled.)

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