Federal prosecutors handling the case against former President Donald J. Trump have gained access to a trove of private direct messages that he sent through his Twitter account, according to recently unsealed court papers. The existence of these messages is significant as Trump has been known for his cautiousness in using written forms of communication.
The court papers revealed that prosecutors in the office of special counsel Jack Smith obtained the direct messages from Trump’s Twitter account. The access to these messages came as a result of a dispute between prosecutors and Twitter over the legality of executing a warrant on the former president’s social media. Twitter had shut down Trump’s account shortly after the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
The transcripts of hearings in federal court from February showed that Twitter confirmed it had turned over all direct messages from Trump’s account, including those in draft form. The company disclosed the existence of both deleted and non-deleted messages. The warrant sought all content, records, and other information related to Trump’s Twitter account from October 2020 to January 2021, including tweets, direct messages, and drafts.
This warrant, signed by a federal judge in January, marks the first known instance of prosecutors directly searching Trump’s communications. It adds a new dimension to the special counsel’s investigation into the former president. The Trump Twitter account was often managed by Dan Scavino, a longtime advisor, so it remains unclear who exactly may have written the direct messages.
CNN had previously reported on the revelation that Trump’s direct messages were sought by the search warrant. In response to the news, a spokesman for Trump referred to a post on his social media website, Truth Social, in which he called Smith a “lowlife” and accused him of breaking into his Twitter account.
The charges filed against Trump accuse him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election by defrauding the United States, disrupting the certification process at the Capitol on January 6, and depriving people of their right to have their votes counted. The indictment extensively references Trump’s use of Twitter, including summoning his followers to Washington on January 6 and spreading false expectations about Vice President Mike Pence’s authority in the certification process.
When the special counsel’s office obtained the warrant for Trump’s Twitter account, they also gained permission to prevent Twitter from informing the former president about the scrutiny of his communications. Twitter challenged this nondisclosure order, arguing that it violated the company’s First Amendment rights. However, the company ultimately lost the fight and was fined $350,000 for delaying compliance with the warrant.
The content of the direct messages and their potential impact on the case against Trump have not been revealed. The unsealing of these court papers sheds light on the behind-the-scenes efforts of prosecutors to gather evidence in their investigation into the actions of the former president.