In a surprising twist, a newly unsealed court document has unveiled that Special Counsel Jack Smith managed to gain access to former President Donald J Trump’s Twitter account, including its private messages and draft tweets. This revelation comes amidst his ongoing investigations into alleged wrongdoings by the ex-president.

The document indicates that Smith obtained a secret search warrant in January, permitting him to scrutinize the ‘@RealDonaldTrump’ account for potential evidence related to criminal activities. Initially, a judge imposed a hefty fine of $350,000 on Elon Musk’s social media conglomerate, previously known as Twitter, for its refusal to cooperate, as revealed in documents released last week.

Furthermore, the court order also restricted the company, now identified as X, from informing Trump about the warrant. According to sources from Smith’s special counsel team, the fear was that if Trump were alerted to the warrant, he might interfere with the investigation.

An attorney from Smith’s team explained, “There actually are concrete cognizable reasons to think that if the former president had notice of these covert investigative steps, there would be actual harm and concern for the investigation, for the witnesses going forward.”

Following some legal wrangling, the unsealed filing discloses that Twitter ultimately provided the requested records. The court filing specifies that Smith secured a search warrant that directed Twitter to hand over ‘data and records’ linked to Trump’s Twitter account, according to reports from the Daily Mail. The content of the messages and draft tweets remains undisclosed.

As per a transcript included in the submission, a legal representative from Twitter affirmed that the company divulged ‘all direct messages, including those in ‘draft form,’ to the special counsel’s team. Moreover, access to both ‘eliminated’ and ‘retained’ direct messages from Trump was accorded to the special counsel’s team.

The former president, in response, accused Joe Biden of being responsible for the warrant and criticized Smith for what he deemed a violation of his privacy. Trump posted on Monday to voice his displeasure, stating, “How dare lowlife prosecutor, Deranged Jack Smith, breaking into my Twitter account without informing me and, indeed, trying to completely hide this atrocity from me. What could he possibly find out that is not already known.”

Smith’s actions have culminated in a 37-count indictment against Trump, with charges ranging from obstruction of justice in relation to classified materials to his efforts to maintain power after losing the 2020 election. The indictment also implicates Trump in spreading falsehoods and encouraging the events of January 6th, characterized as an attack on the Capitol “fueled by lies.”

In response to these developments, Smith issued a public statement underscoring that the assault on the Capitol was “fueled by lies” propagated by Trump, aiming to disrupt the core workings of the U.S. government’s electoral process. Smith asserted his commitment to a ‘swift’ trial as part of his pursuit of justice.

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