The real reason Jack Smith subpoenaed Donald Trump’s Twitter account
Jack Smith subpoenaed Donald Trump’s Twitter account in January and has since received access to it, per Politico. Much of the focus will be on Twitter’s delayed compliance and contempt of court fines. But the big story is what Smith needed with Trump’s Twitter account in the first place.
By the time of the subpoena, Trump had already been reinstated on Twitter and all his past tweets were once again visible. This wasn’t about merely obtaining Trump’s 1/6 related tweets. This was about getting inside the account to access the mind of information not publicly visible.
If you post an incriminating tweet, your reasonable doubt defense at trial is going to be “I didn’t post that, someone else was posting on my behalf without my approval.” Getting internal metadata from Trump’s account can help prove the location, device, and overall circumstances of any given tweet.
Which of course leads to the question of which tweet(s) Jack Smith considered incriminating. If we’re talking about the tweets that the 1/6 mob, that would point to more charges coming against Trump. So far he’s only been charged for the fake electors plot.
This would dovetail with recent reports that Jack Smith is still sorting out what went on at the Willard Hotel “command center” after someone who was in that room recently flipped.
It’s also possible that Jack Smith was seeking Trump’s direct messages. But is anyone aware of Trump having ever sent any DMs? He’s not exactly the most tech savvy person. We’ll find out eventually.
In any case, keep in mind that this Twitter subpoena is old news. Jack Smith got whatever he needed several months ago. It’s just that this news is finally becoming public now, because someone involved with the story decided to give it to the media – which in and of itself can be a story. Prosecutors sometimes strategically put this kind of information out there to let someone involved know they they’re screwed and it’s time to flip.
But this news has nothing to do with Trump’s recent inappropriate social media posts, all of which were made on Truth Social, not Twitter. This isn’t about the upcoming protective order hearing.
That said, if Trump was notified along the way that his Twitter account had been subpoenaed, it could help explain why he never did come back to Twitter even after he was reinstated.
