The High Court dismisses Elon Musk's dispute with Jack Smith concerning Trump's Twitter archives.
The judicial body took no public stance and no significant opposition was recorded.
Inspector Smith sought access to Trump's ex-communications on the social media platform, now known as X, during the probe into the ex-president's attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump was charged last year, and his case is still ongoing in the US District Court in Washington D.C.
X, which asserted that Trump should be allowed to claim executive privilege over the records, initially refused to cooperate and was slapped with a fine of $350,000. The company didn't challenge the search warrant itself but rather the gag order.
In its Supreme Court appeal, X described the confidentiality order as an "unprecedented bypass of executive privilege." The company warned of far-reaching implications if the government attempted to obtain information protected by other privileges, such as the doctor-patient relationship.
However, the government dismissed these concerns, stating that X couldn't assert any form of privilege over the records.
"The Fourth Amendment allows the government to obtain a warrant to search property belonging to an innocent third party as long as the warrant is backed by probable cause that 'evidence of a crime will be found,'" the special counsel's office argued.
Musk, who supports Trump's reelection bid, was mentioned.
A lower court and a three-judge panel in Washington D.C. agreed with the special counsel's office that revealing the warrant could have potentially harmed the grand jury investigation. This investigation ultimately secured a handful of direct messages sent by Trump and other data connected to the @realDonaldTrump account.
In this political context, the company X argued that executive privilege should protect Trump's communications, indicating a significant involvement of politics in the case.
Despite the judicial body's decision, the case surrounding Trump's charges continues to be a topic of political discussion and debate.
