Supreme Court Rejects Elon Musk’s X Appeal Over Trump Criminal Investigation

Washington, D.C. — On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), regarding a dispute over data obtained from former President Donald Trump’s account during a criminal investigation. The case arose as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged interference in the 2020 election.

At the heart of the appeal was whether prosecutors should have been allowed to access Trump’s account data without notifying him. X’s legal team argued that the nondisclosure order violated the company’s free speech rights and that such practices should be limited in future cases. However, Trump himself was not involved in the appeal.

The case stems from a warrant issued under the Stored Communications Act in January 2023. A federal judge approved the warrant and the accompanying nondisclosure order, preventing X from informing Trump. Prosecutors contended that informing Trump could have led to evidence being destroyed or tampered with. X initially resisted compliance, leading to hefty civil penalty before it eventually provided the requested data.

While special counsel Smith has already obtained the data, X’s legal team sought to challenge the nondisclosure provisions, arguing that Trump should have had an opportunity to assert protections based on his role as president. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the original court’s decision, and the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene leaves the lower court ruling in place.

The Supreme Court’s decision to reject the appeal follows its earlier ruling this year, which established that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for official acts taken while in office. However, the latest ruling does not address broader issues of data privacy in criminal investigations