Supreme Court won’t take up challenge to Jack Smith’s Trump Twitter data access
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a challenge by social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to court rulings that forced the platform to turn over data on former President Trump’s account to special counsel Jack Smith.
Early last year, Smith obtained a secret warrant for Trump’s account on X, where Trump posted prolifically during his White House term, as part of prosecutors’ federal election interference investigation.
X was prohibited from informing the former president about the warrant. It only became public last summer, after Trump was charged with four felonies in the case. He pleaded not guilty.
The company challenged the order, arguing the records were potentially covered by executive privilege and not being able to tell Trump violated the First Amendment. Court filings show X at one point was fined $350,000 for not timely turning over Trump’s data.
Lower courts rejected the social platform’s arguments and agreed with Smith that disclosing the warrant could hurt the grand jury investigation.
X brought its fight to the Supreme Court, hoping to prevent the process from happening again, insisting most similar challenges never reach the high court and the case was a “rare opportunity” to review the issue.
“If the Court does not grant this petition, it could be decades (if ever) before it gets another clean vehicle to resolve the important and recurring questions presented,” X wrote in its petition.
The Supreme Court declined to take up X’s appeal in a brief, unsigned order.
The company was represented by Seth Waxman, who served as U.S. solicitor general under former President Clinton, and other attorneys at WilmerHale.
Smith’s team was led by Michael Dreeben, another veteran Supreme Court advocate. He told the justices to turn away the appeal, contending the dispute was moot and no executive privilege issue actually existed.
“If review of the underlying legal issues were ever warranted, the Court should await a live case in which the issues are concretely presented,” prosecutors wrote in court filings.
The Supreme Court has previously gotten involved in Smith’s prosecution. In July, the high court sided with Trump by granting him broad criminal immunity for official presidential acts as he defends against his charges.
Date: | |
Tag: | Donald Trump |
-
Top stories - CBS News
Supreme Court won't hear dispute involving Jack Smith and Trump's X data
Special counsel Jack Smith obtained in January 2023 a court-authorized warrant for information associated with former President Donald Trump's X account as part of its election interference probe.2 hours ago - Donald Trump -
Politics - The Hill
Supreme Court won’t hear Pennsylvania legislators' challenge to executive actions expanding voting access
The Supreme Court decided Monday that it won’t take up a case to restore a lawsuit by Pennsylvania Republicans that challenged executive actions expanding voting access on the basis that only state ...2 hours ago -
Politics - The Hill
Supreme Court declines to take up ‘dark money’ case
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a challenge to San Francisco’s "Sunlight on Dark Money" disclosure law, which would have tested the limits of disclosure and free speech in campaign ...2 hours ago -
Politics - The Hill
Harris campaign highlights Jack Smith revelations in Trump case in new ad
Vice President Harris’s campaign highlighted Special Counsel Jack Smith’s unsealed filing in an ad new on Monday to argue that former President Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021 were worse than the ...3 hours ago - Donald Trump -
Politics - The Hill
Supreme Court won’t weigh Michigan ban on state funding for private schools
The Supreme Court will not weigh whether Michigan’s ban on public dollars for private schools can stand, allowing a decades-old amendment to the state’s constitution to remain intact. Five ...2 hours ago -
Politics - The Hill
Supreme Court won’t revive lawsuit over DOJ school board memo
The Supreme Court won’t revive a lawsuit from parents in Michigan and Virginia who sued Attorney General Merrick Garland after he directed federal authorities to address threats against school ...2 hours ago -
Top stories - NBC News
Supreme Court turns away Elon Musk's X appeal over Trump criminal investigation
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Elon Musk's social media company X, declining to decide whether prosecutors should have obtained data from Trump's Twitter account without him being notified.2 hours ago - Donald Trump -
Top stories - ABC News
Supreme Court won't hear appeal from Elon Musk’s X platform over warrant in Trump case
Prosecutors got search warrant in the election-interference case against Trump.1 hour ago - Donald Trump -
Business - Inc.
Watch 2 Founders Take SaaS to the Next Level in This Wacky Challenge
DOE Media co-founders Jacob Chandler and Ramzey Nassar take Inc.’s Build-a-Biz challenge.35 minutes ago
More from The Hill
-
Politics - The Hill
Democrats accuse food, beverage companies of ‘profiteering’ through ‘shrinkflation’
Two Democratic lawmakers have sent a letter to some of the country’s biggest food and beverage companies arguing they are “profiteering” through “shrinkflation,” the practice of reducing product ...46 minutes ago -
Politics - The Hill
The imagined national debt crisis: A long-running distraction
Republicans in the House of Representatives threatened to shut down the government in September 2024 in order to reduce the national debt, but Democrats bailed them out, recognizing that closing ...54 minutes ago -
Politics - The Hill
Trump says son Barron heard about assassination attempt on tennis court
Former President Trump said his youngest son, Barron, was playing tennis when he learned in July that his father had been shot at the Butler, Pa. rally. Trump recounted the experience in a sit-down ...1 hour ago - Donald Trump -
Politics - The Hill
Musk-founded PAC says it will give $47 for every swing-state voter referral who signs petition
The America PAC, founded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is asking the public to sign a petition in favor of the First and Second Amendments and offering supporters $47 for each subsequent ...1 hour ago -
Politics - The Hill
US spending on Middle East conflict tops $22B since Oct. 7: Research
The United States government has spent more than $22 billion on fighting the conflict in the Middle East since war erupted a year ago on Oct. 7, 2023, according to new research. The Costs of War ...1 hour ago