Social media platform X is Leave to appeal The Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking it to hear a challenge to the process by which the department accessed former President Trump’s records on the platform.
The warrant challenges a federal court order from last year that forced the platforms to hand over documents related to Trump’s account to special counsel Jack Smith without informing Trump or giving him an opportunity to appeal the order.
If the company is successful in its challenge, it could fundamentally change how search warrants are served on data holders.
X argues that some of President Trump’s data may be protected by executive privilege, and that other users, from journalists to doctors, may have compelling reasons to keep their data private as well.
X said Smith’s order was an “unprecedented circumvention of executive privilege” that could impact users in the future, adding that current procedures “silence” the company’s First Amendment rights by barring it from discussing searches with users.
Smith’s team obtained data including Trump’s direct messages, draft messages and deleted posts, and after a months-long investigation, he charged Trump with election fraud last year.
Federal Judge Beryl Howell upheld Smith’s order last year, forcing X to turn over the data and then fining the company $350,000 for delaying its delivery. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals later agreed with her ruling.
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