Twitter turned over at least 32 direct messages from Trump’s account to special counsel

Twitter handed over at least 32 direct messages from former President Donald Trump's @realDonaldTrump account to special counsel Jack Smith earlier this year as part of the federal election subversion investigation, according to recently unsealed court documents.

In their request for these messages, prosecutors argued that Trump posed a risk of tampering with evidence. The unsealed filings provide more insight into the extent of the special counsel's investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, some of which were conducted publicly on his Twitter account, where he promoted unfounded claims of election fraud and encouraged government officials to challenge the election results.

However, investigators also gained access to private records associated with Trump's Twitter account, although it's unclear how these messages contributed to the investigation's progress.

The investigators, defending a non-disclosure order regarding the warrant for @realDonaldTrump, explained to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals how Trump had pressured state and federal officials after the 2020 election, retaliated against individuals who didn't comply with his requests, paid legal fees for witnesses involved in the probe, and publicly criticized the special counsel's top prosecutor.

Prosecutors argued that this pattern of obstructive behavior supported the conclusion that Trump posed a significant risk of tampering with evidence, attempting to influence or intimidate potential witnesses, and undermining ongoing government investigations.

Prosecutors also mentioned alleged obstruction by Trump in a separate criminal matter involving classified documents. At the time of the prosecutors' argument to the appeals court, Trump had not been charged in federal court in either case. However, he has since pleaded not guilty to charges related to both the investigations into election interference and mishandling of national security documents, with both cases including obstruction-related charges.

Furthermore, the prosecutors pointed out that the former President continued his obstructive efforts even after his presidency ended, such as publicizing the existence of the Mar-a-Lago Warrant and offering to pay legal fees for potential witnesses against him while criticizing the lead prosecutor on his Truth Social platform.

The specific details of what was obtained with the search warrant issued to Twitter were disclosed in a previously sealed brief submitted in April to the US Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, DC. Twitter, now known as "X," had appealed a judge's ruling that penalized the company for delaying the release of Trump's account records.

Twitter had resisted producing the records due to a court-approved order that prohibited it from disclosing warrant details to Trump. The company also raised concerns about the former president potentially asserting executive privilege over some of the materials in his account.

In the newly unsealed brief, prosecutors noted that Twitter had only provided 32 direct-message items, which constituted a small fraction of the total production. Twitter had sought to delay compliance with the entire warrant based on the unlikely possibility that a tiny portion of the material contained instances where the President had used direct messaging for sensitive and confidential deliberations with trusted advisors within the Executive Branch.

The DC Circuit Court unsealed these documents along with other previously confidential filings in the court dispute. Another unsealed court filing indicated that the warrant requested information from October 2020 through January 2021, covering all communication records related to Trump's Twitter account during that period.