Supreme Court rejects Musk’s appeal in Trump criminal investigation

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal brought by X, Elon Musk’s social media company, regarding whether prosecutors should have been able to obtain data from former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account without notifying him. The case arose from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump for alleged election interference in 2020. The Supreme Court had previously ruled that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for official acts taken in office, leaving a ruling in favor of prosecutors in place. X’s lawyers argued that prosecutors should not be able to obtain data without notifying the person involved to protect their free speech rights. The case dates back to January of last year when the government sought a warrant under the Stored Communications Act as part of the investigation. Initially resisting, X was later hit with civil penalties before complying. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the district court’s decision, and during the litigation, Smith agreed that Trump could be notified about the warrant. Trump himself was not involved in the case, and the Supreme Court’s decision allowed prosecutors to obtain the data without notifying him.

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