Prosecutors obtained 32 direct messages from Donald Trump’s Twitter account as part of an investigation into the former president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
This revelation became public on Friday when a brief was opened.
Twitter, now known as X, was served a warrant earlier this year for information related to the investigation. The company initially refused to comply with the warrant and took the Justice Department to court. Twitter argued that the non-disclosure order violated the First Amendment and the Stored Communications Act.
A district court judge ruled in favor of the DOJ and sanctioned Twitter $350,000 for not complying with the order. Twitter’s appeal failed
“The district court did not abuse its discretion by holding Twitter in contempt and assessing a $350,000 sanction,” the appeals court said in a court document made public Friday.
The contents of the direct messages received by Special Counsel Jack Smith have not been disclosed.
Trump was convicted in August of four charges related to attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The charges include conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
The former president pleaded innocent in a D.C. court days after his conviction. He continues to claim that the allegations are part of a political conspiracy to prevent him from returning to power.