Special counsel got a search warrant for Twitter to turn over info on Trump’s account

Special counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained a search warrant in January for records related to former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, and a judge levied a $350,000 fine on the company for missing the deadline to comply.

The details were included in a ruling from the federal appeals court in Washington over a legal battle surrounding the warrant that has played out under seal and behind closed doors for months. The appeals court rejected Twitter’s claim that it should not have been held in contempt or sanctioned.

The former president posted on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday that the Justice Department “secretly attacked” his Twitter account, and he characterized the investigation as an attempt to “infringe” on his bid to reclaim the White House in 2024.

The government also obtained a nondisclosure agreement that had prohibited Twitter from disclosing the search warrant, the filing says. The court found that disclosing the warrant could risk that Trump could jeopardize the ongoing investigation by giving him “an opportunity to destroy evidence, change patterns of behavior” or notify his allies, the filing says.

 Trump used his Twitter account in the weeks leading up to his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to spread false statements about the election that prosecutors allege were designed to sow mistrust in the democratic process. On Jan. 6, Trump sent tweets urging his Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the election.

Approved ~ FS

Captain

Article URL : https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/special-counsel-search-warrant-twitter-turn-info-trumps-102138369