Twitter provided Special Counsel with Trump’s deleted messages and location data, according to documents.
Twitter Hands Over Voluminous Set of Data from Trump’s Account to Special Counsel
In a recent development, Twitter has provided special counsel Jack Smith with a massive amount of data from former President Donald Trump’s account, according to newly unsealed documents. The data includes deleted direct messages, other direct messages, draft posts, and information on the locations of users who posted to the account. Notably, the data also contains “confidential communications” between President Trump and his senior advisers.
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Twitter initially challenged the warrant for the data, but U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell rejected their challenge. Twitter argued that the warrant infringed on its constitutional rights and sought permission to inform President Trump about the warrant so he could oppose it based on claims of executive privilege. However, Judge Howell upheld the warrant and a linked non-disclosure order, ultimately sanctioning Twitter for failing to provide the data promptly.
Although Twitter appealed the ruling, an appeals court sided with Judge Howell, stating that the prosecutors had a compelling interest in their investigation of Mr. Trump and that the order was narrowly tailored.
The recently released transcript is part of a collection of unsealed documents that also includes the warrant itself. Mr. Smith’s team was granted extensive access to Twitter’s data, including all records from October 2020 to January 2021, composed posts, direct messages, devices used to access the account, and more. Twitter was also required to provide lists of users followed and blocked by President Trump, users who liked or shared his posts, and all searches he performed during the specified period.
During the court hearing, Twitter’s attorney clarified that there was no bank or credit card information associated with the account, as the Twitter service is free.
Furthermore, Twitter mentioned that they were working on producing additional records, including data that may have been deleted after the account was reinstated in late 2022. It’s worth noting that Twitter suspended President Trump’s account in 2021 following the breach of the U.S. Capitol.
President Trump has criticized the actions of President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice, claiming they are an attempt to infringe on his campaign and questioning the existence of the First Amendment.
Challenge
Mr. Smith’s team requested a non-disclosure order to keep the warrant secret, arguing that informing President Trump would pose a risk. They believed that maintaining secrecy would allow the grand jury to deliberate freely and prevent witness tampering. However, Twitter argued that the existence of the investigation is already public knowledge, as disclosed by the Department of Justice, and that various reports have detailed the grand jury’s proceedings. Twitter also claimed that the non-disclosure order violated its First Amendment rights, citing its terms that promise to notify users of account information disclosures unless prohibited.
“The non-disclosure order in this case is particularly significant given that the warrant seeks the contents of private communications sent to or from the then-President of the United States that raise unique and complex
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