Special Counsel Sought Trump’s Twitter Account, Fined Company
Court documents released Wednesday revealed that special counsel Jack Smith’s team in January 2023 presented a search warrant to social media platform X, then known as Twitter, for records related to former US Pres. Donald Trump’s account.
Facts
- Court documents released Wednesday revealed that special counsel Jack Smith’s team in January 2023 presented a search warrant to social media platform X, then known as Twitter, for records related to former US Pres. Donald Trump’s account.1
- In addition, a judge fined the platform $350K for delaying its compliance with the warrant, which was part of Smith’s investigation into Trump’s actions following the 2020 presidential election.1
- The documents detail how the platform, which suspended Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the US Capitol, didn't fully comply with the warrant until three days after the court-ordered deadline.2
- It’s unknown what Smith was specifically seeking from Twitter because those portions of the warrant remain redacted. But the platform was ordered not to inform Trump about the warrant. Following an appeal from Twitter, Trump was informed about certain details in June.3
- Trump reacted to the news on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling the warrant a significant "hit” on his civil rights and accusing Biden of attempting to “infringe” on his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination.4
- Trump has pleaded not guilty to four charges brought by Smith related to alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.5
Sources: 1PBS NewsHour, 2Al Jazeera, 3CNN, 4FOX News, and 5Independent.
Narratives
- Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by PJ Media. The Biden administration will stop at nothing to derail Trump’s campaign, including stomping on a private company’s First Amendment rights. Smith, a proven crooked prosecutor, is leading a partisan probe on behalf of the weaponized Justice Department while attempting to stop the man who’s going to defeat Biden in 2024. Americans should worry about how far the Biden regime will go to maintain power.
- Democratic narrative, as provided by Daily Kos. This case is simple: There was probable cause to search Trump's account — without informing the former president — and Twitter failed to comply. Allegations that this violated First Amendment rights don't hold water, as X has been granting requests for information from some of the worse oppressive regimes around the world. Complying with this warrant in the name of protecting US democracy was the least it could do.
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