Biden DOJ Collects List of Every Person Who Followed, Retweeted or Mentioned Donald Trump on Twitter
Court documents released Monday by the Justice Department show that special counsel Jack Smith successfully obtained access to everyone who liked, retweeted or mentioned Donald Trump on Twitter, now known as X.
The search warrant, issued in January by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is part of Smith’s investigation into Trump’s actions leading up to the Capitol incursion of Jan. 6, 2021.
The release of the documents came as a result of a lawsuit brought by a consortium of media organizations seeking to bring sunlight to the special counsel’s probe into Trump, the New York Post reported.
Several of the documents the DOJ released are heavily redacted, including 8 of the 14 pages of the search warrant, which are completely redacted.
However, one of the pages indicated that Smith demanded, “All information from the ‘Connect’ or ‘Notifications’ tab for [Trump’s] account, including all lists of Twitter users who have favorited or retweeted tweets posted by the account, as well as all tweets that include the username associated with the account (i.e. “mentions” or “replies”).”
The DOJ also sought all users that Trump “followed, unfollowed, muted, unmuted, blocked, or unblocked, and all users who have followed, unfollowed, muted, unmuted, blocked, or unblocked” his account.
Conservative podcaster and attorney Eric Matheny responded to the warrant’s release highlighting, “If you liked or retweeted Trump’s tweets – the DOJ wants to know. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s search warrant for Trump’s Twitter account specifically seeks lists of Twitter users who engaged with Trump’s account.”
“This government is out of control!” he added.
If you liked or retweeted Trump’s tweets – the DOJ wants to know. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s search warrant for Trump’s Twitter account specifically seeks lists of Twitter users who engaged with Trump’s account. This government is out of control! https://t.co/kwXil1rbzD
— Eric Matheny 🎙️ (@ericmmatheny) November 29, 2023
The Post reported that Twitter initially balked at handing over the data, saying it was a violation of Twitter users’ First Amendment rights and the Stored Communications Act.
But the federal judge overseeing the case sided with Smith and leveled a $350,000 fine against Twitter for contempt of court. In July, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the ruling.
BOMBSHELL.🚨
Special Counsel Jack Smith sought Twitter data on “all lists of Twitter users who have favorited or retweeted tweets posted by [Trump]”…
DOJ Ordered Sweep of Trump’s Twitter Data for Everyone Who ‘Liked, Followed or Retweeted’ Trumphttps://t.co/grQbdI5UgG
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) November 29, 2023
Smith’s court filing in opposition to Trump being notified about the Twitter search warrant was also released Monday, again with heavy redactions.
“For what appears to be the first time in its history, Twitter Inc. (‘Twitter’) has filed a motion to vacate or modify an order that it not disclose the existence of a search warrant,” Smith argued, insisting that “there is reason to believe notification to the former president, a sophisticated actor with an expansive platform, would result in a statutorily cognizable harm.”
“The [Non-disclosure Order] was granted based on facts showing that notifying the former president would result in destruction of or tampering with evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses, or other serious jeopardy to an investigation or delaying of trial,” the special counsel wrote in the heavily redacted filing.
In August, Smith filed a four-count indictment against Trump related to the 2021 Capitol incursion and his alleged 2020 election interference.
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