Federal prosecutors have obtained a trove of former President Donald Trump’s direct messages from his Twitter account, as well as drafts and deleted missives, according to recently unsealed court papers. It remains unclear what information these direct messages may contain or who they were exchanged with. The revelation adds new details to court documents from last week, which initially revealed that the Justice Department special counsel’s team had obtained a search warrant for Trump’s Twitter account in January.
The court papers state that federal prosecutors sought “all content, records, and other information” related to Trump’s account, including drafts and any liked or retweeted messages, during the period from October 2020 to January 2021. This timeframe encompasses the run-up to the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which shook the nation.
These documents emerged from court hearings held in February, after Twitter attempted to resist the search warrant by claiming that a linked nondisclosure order would violate the company’s First Amendment rights. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia subsequently fined Twitter, now known as X, $350,000 after the company delayed complying with the warrant. Eventually, Twitter handed over the requested information to the special counsel’s team.
Notably, the court filings highlight U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell’s scathing criticism of Twitter. In February, Howell accused the company of taking “extraordinary” measures to inform Trump about the search warrant. At one point, she even asked Twitter’s lawyers if owner Elon Musk wanted to “make Donald Trump feel like he is a particularly welcomed new renewed user of Twitter?” The judge’s comments underscore the contentious nature of the legal battle surrounding the search warrant.
It is important to note that former President Trump was indicted on August 1 on four federal charges related to various conspiracies surrounding the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol and his efforts to retain power after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden. These charges are significant and could have serious legal implications for the former president.
In response to reports of the search warrant, Trump launched a scathing attack on Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith on Sunday. He referred to Smith as a “lowlife prosecutor” and accused him of breaking into his Twitter account “without informing me.” Additionally, Trump questioned what Smith could possibly discover that is not already known. These remarks were made on Truth Social, the social media platform established by Trump after his suspension from Twitter.
This latest development concerning the retrieval of Trump’s direct messages and related information from his Twitter account adds another layer of complexity to the legal proceedings against the former president. As the investigation unfolds, it remains to be seen what additional evidence or insights may emerge from the examination of these records.