For failing to comply with a warrant for records on Trump’s account, Twitter was fined $350,000.
For failing to immediately cooperate with a Justice Department search warrant for documents connected to former US President Donald Trump’s account, Twitter Inc. or X was fined $3,50,000. The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit found the social media juggernaut in civil contempt.
The district court had granted a search warrant in a criminal case, and Twitter was ordered to give material pertaining to Donald Trump’s Twitter account, according to the recently revealed court documents. A nondisclosure order that forbade the corporation from letting anyone know about the search warrant’s existence was also issued.
“Although Twitter eventually complied with the warrant, it took three days after the court-imposed deadline for the corporation to fully turn over the sought data. Thus, Twitter was found in contempt of court and fined $350,000 for its delay. the court document stated.
Twitter claimed that the non-disclosure order violated its First Amendment rights in its appeal to the district court, and that the court should have halted the execution of the warrant until its concerns were settled. It further stated that by finding Twitter in contempt and applying the penalty, the district court abused its discretion.
Additionally, Twitter stated that turning up the documents before the district court determined whether the nondisclosure agreement was legitimate would prevent the former president from “asserting executive privilege to shield communications made using his Twitter account,” according to the AP.
The continuing investigation by Special Counsel John “Jack” Smith would be jeopardised if the warrant were disclosed to Donald Trump, according to Judge Beryl A. Howell’s ruling, according to the Washington Post. She added that it would provide Trump the chance to obliterate evidence, alter behavioral patterns, or alert allies.
