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In a recent development, the Justice Department has fined Elon Musk’s Twitter, now rebranded as “X,” a sum of $350k for its refusal to comply with a search warrant related to former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
The legal battle first began in January when special counsel Jack Smith successfully obtained a search warrant for Donald Trump’s Twitter handle, @realDonaldTrump. This was a significant development in an ongoing investigation into accusations of Trump’s involvement in disruptions during the peaceful transition of power after the 2020 presidential elections, as well as the events leading up to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Informing Trump about the investigation
Twitter objected to the information mandated by the warrant and took exception to a gag order preventing it from notifying Trump about the search. Twitter’s argument, articulated on February 1st, was grounded in the First Amendment, highlighting that it should not be compelled to surrender records until the issue of the gag order was resolved. However, the court sided with the government’s position, arguing that a public search order could trigger obstructive actions by former President Donald Trump or even lead to an attempt to evade prosecution.
On February 2nd, Twitter adopted a more assertive stance by nullifying the nondisclosure order and stating that the order infringed upon its right to communicate with its subscribers. Additionally, Twitter initiated an appeal to contest the lower court’s decision. And despite the appeal reaching the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the verdict favoured the government. As a result, Twitter found itself subjected to significant penalties, with daily fines of $50,000 progressively doubling for each day of non-compliance.
Finally, Twitter conceded and provided the records, which encompassed draft tweets, direct messages, and information about account access, within three days. However, it is important to note that, following the legal proceedings, the government also allowed the company to inform Trump about the contents of the warrant while withholding the identity of the case agent.
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