The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Elon Musk’s X Corp. regarding the company’s allegation that special counsel Jack Smith conducted an unauthorized investigation into Donald Trump’s social media account without informing the former president.
X Corp. appealed to the Supreme Court in July, seeking clarification on the conditions under which a tech company can be obligated to disclose user information without notifying the individuals being investigated.
No comments were published by the court on Monday, and there were no dissents. In the previous year, Smith’s team successfully utilized a “nondisclosure order” to prevent X Corp. from informing Trump about the usage of a search warrant by prosecutors.
This warrant was used to obtain private communications from Trump’s X (formerly Twitter) account, which included direct messages, location data, and drafts from the weeks leading up to the January 6 insurrection.
When X Corp. contested the order, it faced contempt charges and was subjected to a fine of $350,000. The prosecution maintained that notifying Trump about the search would pose a threat to the preservation of evidence.
Last week, the team working on Smith’s case revealed the details of how they planned to use tweets from Trump’s personal Twitter account as evidence of his alleged election interference in the January 6 trial.
Trump’s tweets raised questions about the credibility of the 2020 election outcomes, disseminated unfounded allegations of voter fraud, targeted individuals who sought to share factual details about the election, expressed support for those attending the rally in Washington that ultimately turned into a riot, and aided the former president in pressuring Vice President Mike Pence.
On January 6, 2021, at 2:24 p.m., during the chaos of rioters storming the U.S. Capitol, President Trump took to Twitter and expressed his disappointment in Vice President Mike Pence.
In his tweet, Trump stated that Pence lacked the courage to take the necessary actions to safeguard our country and uphold the Constitution.
He believed that the states should have been given an opportunity to certify a revised set of facts, free from any fraudulent or inaccurate information. Trump emphasized that the truth was of utmost importance and demanded its revelation for the United States.
The tweet was subsequently shared with the crowd at the Capitol, who proceeded to chant, “Hang Mike Pence!” The filing reveals that Pence had to be quickly escorted to a secure location as soon as Trump’s tweet was brought to his attention.
Trump’s reaction upon learning that Pence was safe was reportedly dismissive, as he responded with a nonchalant, “So what?”