A federal judge has brought attention to the possibility of Elon Musk’s involvement in trying to establish a rapport with former President Donald Trump during a criminal probe.
The revelation emerged from a court transcript released on Wednesday.
During a hearing on February 7, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell probed Twitter’s legal team about the delay in providing data related to Trump’s Twitter account to special counsel Jack Smith, who held a search warrant for the ex-president’s account.
At the time of the hearing, Twitter, now known as X, was resisting compliance with the warrant, citing legal arguments and its intention to notify Trump about the investigation.
Suspended account
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, acquired Twitter in late 2022 and reinstated Trump’s account, which had been suspended following the January 2021 Capitol riot.
Concerned about the delay in compliance, Judge Howell commented, “Twitter has had quite some time to comply with the warrant and have everything prepared to turn over, so I am a little bit concerned about where we are,” as per the transcript.
Subsequently, Twitter provided the necessary data related to Trump’s Twitter account to Smith’s team on February 9. The company was then fined $350,000 as part of a contempt sanction.
91 charges
Former President Trump is currently facing 91 felony charges across four criminal cases related to his efforts to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
During the February hearing, Judge Howell engaged in a detailed exchange with Twitter’s legal team, questioning their understanding of the warrant’s scope and the nature of the information sought by the government.
Addressing the possibility of Musk’s involvement, Judge Howell inquired, “Is it because the CEO wants to cozy up with the former president, and that’s why you are here?”
Search material
The conversation between the judge and the defense team revolved around the search for material and the interpretation of rights related to the First Amendment and executive privilege. Twitter claimed that these rights could limit its ability to provide materials to the government.
In response to Judge Howell’s query about Twitter’s motivations, George Varghese, Twitter’s lawyer, stated, “Twitter has no interest other than litigating its constitutional rights, your honor.”
