Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, listens to Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, speak at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show on Saturday, October 5, 2024 in Butler, Pa.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it won’t hear an appeal from the social media platform X over a search warrant prosecutors obtained in the election-interference case against former President Donald Trump.
The company, which was known as Twitter before being purchased by billionaire Elon Musk, claims that a nondisclosure agreement that prevented it from telling Trump the warrant obtained by Jack Smith’s special counsel team violated their First Amendment rights.
The company also claims that Trump should have been given a chance at exercising executive privilege. Their lawyers argued that if the government is not reined in it could use similar tactics to access other privileged communications.
Two nonpartisan groups that promote electronic privacy also spoke out, urging the high court to consider the case under the First Amendment.
The prosecution, however, says that the company never proved Trump used the account for official reasons, so executive privilege would not be an issue. A lower court found that Trump’s knowledge of the investigation could have been compromised.
In the weeks before his supporters attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Trump used his twitter account to spread false statements regarding the election. Prosecutors claim that the statements were intended to sow distrust in the democratic process.
The indictment details Trump’s use of his Twitter account to encourage followers to come to Washington, Jan. 6, how he pressured Vice President Mike Pence into rejecting the certification, and how he falsely suggested the mob that smashed windows and beat police officers at the Capitol was peaceful.
The case is moving forward slowly after the Supreme Court ruled in July that Trump was immune from criminal prosecution because he was a former President.
The warrant was issued at Twitter during a period of rapid change instituted by Musk. He purchased the platform in 2020 and has since laid off a large number of staff, including those dedicated to ferreting misinformation and hate speeches.
He also welcomed back users who were previously banned, such as Trump, and endorsed his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
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