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Special Counsel Jack Smith acquired a search warrant earlier this year for the Twitter account belonging to former President Donald Trump, the handle @realDonaldTrump. New court documents have shed light on this previously undisclosed development.
At the outset, Twitter resisted complying with the search warrant issued on January 17. This led to a federal judge holding the company, which is now operating under the name X, in contempt of court and imposing a hefty fine of $350,000. The fine was upheld by a federal court of appeals in a sealed opinion last month. The details of this legal battle have now been partly unsealed, offering insight into the behind-the-scenes struggle.
The court papers indicate that although Twitter eventually acquiesced and provided the information requested by the warrant, it did so after a delay of three days beyond the court-ordered deadline. This delay prompted the contempt citation and subsequent fine.
The exact nature of what Special Counsel Jack Smith was seeking from Donald Trump’s Twitter account remains uncertain. However, it is known that Trump actively used the account leading up to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. He utilized the platform to propagate unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, rally his supporters for events in Washington, and launch verbal attacks against his adversaries. Gaining access to Twitter data could have potentially revealed usage patterns, any potential unauthorized access to the account, and even drafts of tweets that were never sent.
The existence of this search warrant underscores the significant step taken by investigators to gain insights into one of the most influential communication tools in American and global politics. Following the events of January 6, Twitter suspended Trump’s access to the platform. However, his access was later restored by Elon Musk, who had taken control of Twitter.
The legal tussle between Twitter and Special Counsel Smith revolved around a “nondisclosure order” that accompanied the search warrant. This order explicitly prohibited Twitter from informing Donald Trump about the existence of the warrant. Twitter contended that this nondisclosure order infringed upon First Amendment rights and insisted that the court should have prevented its enforcement. The appeals court, however, upheld the nondisclosure order, reasoning that revealing the warrant to Trump could potentially compromise the ongoing investigation.
The court opinion emphasized that the nondisclosure order was temporary and specifically designed to safeguard the integrity of the investigation. Twitter retained the ability to express general concerns about warrants or nondisclosure orders and remained free to discuss the broader investigation into the events of January 6.
These documents also provided insights into the challenges faced by the Justice Department in communicating with Twitter, which had recently undergone a change in ownership. The company ultimately complied with the warrant, although it initially raised legal objections to the accompanying nondisclosure order.
The revelation of this legal dispute comes after reports emerged in May, which hinted at lawyers from both sides participating in sealed proceedings at the courthouse. The unsealing of these court documents now offers a more detailed understanding of the complex legal wrangling surrounding the search warrant for Trump’s Twitter account.
