Twitter, now known as X, has been fined $350,000 for failing to provide timely access to former President Trump’s account as ordered by the court, according to a court filing that has been recently unsealed. The court filing reveals that the fine was imposed after special counsel Jack Smith obtained a search warrant for the account in connection with Trump’s attempts to maintain power after losing the 2020 election. Smith’s office sought the warrant in January 2023.
According to the filing, Twitter did not fully provide the requested information to Smith until three days after the court-ordered deadline. However, the company eventually complied with the court’s order.
In addition, the government acquired a nondisclosure agreement that prevented Twitter from informing Trump about the obtained warrant for his account. The D.C. District Court made this decision based on the belief that disclosing the warrant to Trump would jeopardize the ongoing investigation by enabling him to destroy evidence or notify his allies.
The government initially tried to serve Twitter with the warrant on January 17 through its legal request website, but the website was not functioning. However, the warrant was successfully served on January 19 through the same website. When the government asked for an update a week later, Twitter’s counsel claimed to have not heard anything about the warrant.
On February 1, Twitter objected to the government’s nondisclosure order, citing First Amendment concerns, and refused to comply with the warrant until the court determined the legality of the order.
The district court eventually ruled in favor of the government, finding Twitter in contempt for its actions.
Last week, Trump was arraigned on four charges related to his attempts to undermine the 2020 election results. The first hearing in his case before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is scheduled for Friday.