Prosecutors obtained 32 direct messages from Donald Trump's Twitter account as part of its investigation into the former president's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The revelation became public on Friday when a brief was unsealed.
Twitter, which is now known as X, was served a warrant earlier this year for the information related to the investigation. The company initially refused to comply with the warrant and took the Department of Justice to court. Twitter argued that the nondisclosure order violated the First Amendment and the Stored Communications Act.
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A district court judge ruled in favor of the DOJ and sanctioned Twitter $350,000 for not complying with the order. Twitter's appeal was unsuccessful
"The district court did not abuse its discretion by holding Twitter in contempt and assessing a $350,000 sanction," the appeals court stated in the court document made public on Friday.
The contents of the direct messages obtained by Special Counsel Jack Smith have not been revealed.
Trump was indicted in August on four charges connected to attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The charges allege a conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
The former president pleaded not guilty in a D.C. courtroom days after he was indicted. He has continued to claim the charges are part of a political witch hunt to prevent him from returning to power.
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