Topline
The Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge brought by social network X on Monday, after the Elon Musk-owned company sued the federal government for forcing it to turn over information about former President Donald Trump to prosecutors investigating him, without being able to tell the ex-president about the warrant.
Key Facts
The Supreme Court did not issue any explanation for its decision to reject X’s request for it to hear the lawsuit, and no justices identified themselves as dissenting against the decision.
X, formerly known as Twitter, went to the Supreme Court after turning over information about Trump’s account—like direct messages—to Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team, who asked the company to sign a non-disclosure agreement barring them from informing Trump or his associates about the warrant.
The social media company argued it should not have been able to turn over the communications without giving Trump the opportunity to invoke executive privilege, also claiming the request violated the First Amendment by “gagging” X in a “highly public investigation” by prohibiting the company from communicating with Trump about the warrant.
The federal government argued X’s arguments “lack merit and warrant no further review,” alleging the company “misapprehends” the First Amendment’s requirements and “erroneously seeks to inject unfounded executive-privilege claims into its argument”—and argued that even if the company’s case has merit, the case is moot now anyway since prosecutors have ended their investigation.
Federal district and appeals courts had already ruled against X before it went to the Supreme Court.
X has not yet responded to a request for comment on the Supreme Court’s decision.
What To Watch For
The criminal case against Trump over trying to overturn the 2020 election is still playing out in federal court, though it’s unclear when or if it will go to trial. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has to determine which charges against Trump, if any, can move forward, after the Supreme Court ruled Trump can’t be prosecuted for anything based on his official acts as president. Smith filed a sweeping document laying out the government’s case against Trump, which was made public last week, which broadly accuses Trump of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 election despite knowing his election fraud claims were false. Trump has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty, and is expected to hire Justice Department officials who would drop the charges if he’s elected president.
News Peg
X’s case against the federal government over its Trump investigation comes as Musk, who owns X, has increasingly aligned himself with the ex-president. The billionaire is a major donor to America PAC, which has become one of the top super PACs supporting Trump in the election, and has been outspoken in Trump’s favor on X. After the two had a livestreamed conversation on X in August, Musk appeared alongside Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday, where he said he was “dark MAGA” and claimed Trump “must win to preserve democracy in America.”
Key Background
News of X—then known as Twitter—playing a role in the Trump investigation first emerged in Aug. 2023, when court filings were unsealed following X’s secret court battle trying unsuccessfully to fight the warrant. The government’s case against Trump repeatedly cites the ex-president’s tweets, arguing Trump used the social platform as one of his “tools” to further his alleged conspiracy to overturn the results. Prosecutors also analyzed Trump’s phone data to allege the ex-president was looking at Twitter while his supporters were attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6.
