Twitter Fined for Failing to Quickly Turn Over Trump Data to Jack Smith

August 10, 2023

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by Elizabeth Nolan Brown Reason.com

Special counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed Twitter for records related to former President Donald Trump’s account, as part of Smith’s investigation into Trump’s actions surrounding the 2020 election and January 6 (actions that prompted a federal indictment against Trump last week). Smith obtained a search warrant for the records back in January of this year but Twitter missed the compliance deadline and was fined $350,000, a federal court decision unsealed yesterday shows. Twitter was also barred from telling anyone about the existence or contents of the warrant.

Subpoenaing social media records for law enforcement purposes isn’t in itself problematic, of course. But there are potentially troubling elements to Smith’s investigative demands and process in this case.