Breaking: Jack Smith Obtained a Search Warrant for Trump's Twitter Account

Jack Smith obtained a search warrant for Donald Trump's defunct Twitter account in January 2023, but an initial failure to comply led to the company being held in contempt and fined $350,000. 

The search order had been served along with a nondisclosure order that barred Twitter from informing Trump about the search, or notifying anyone about the existence of the content of the warrant.

Twitter unsuccessfully litigated objections to the search order but eventually complied. The federal D.C. Circuit Court affirmed the sanctions against the company and rejected Twitter's opposition to a nondisclosure order.

Here is the section of the ruling showing the company's $350,000 contempt fine:

Here is the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling:

UPDATE: A footnote in the filing notes that the district court worried that Trump could be a flight risk. It goes on to state that the "government later acknowledged, however, that it had "errantly included flight from prosecution as a predicate" in its application."

The district court also found reason to believe that the former President would "flee from prosecution." J.A. 1. The government later acknowledged, however, that it had "errantly included flight from prosecution as a predicate" in its application. J.A. 281 n.1. The district court did not rely on risk of flight in its ultimate analysis.

Here is Donald Trump's response to the news: