DC appeals court upholds Jack Smith’s access to Trump’s X account

Under Elon Musk's leadership, X, formerly Twitter, has been fighting court rulings that give special counsel Jack Smith access to Trump's X feed. But on Tuesday, January 16, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with X's position.

On X, however, Politico's Kyle Cheney noted that there was a "split bench" and that the "court's conservatives say the rulings shortchanged Trump's right to assert executive privilege."

The decision stated, "It is ORDERED that the petition be denied."

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X suspended Trump's @realdonaldtrump account after the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building. Musk restored the account after acquiring the company, but Trump has preferred to use his own Truth Social as his main social media platform.

Trump posted a message on X on January 8, 2021, announcing that he would not be attending President Joe Biden's inauguration. And Trump didn't use the platform again until August 24, 2023, when he posted a copy of the mugshot of him taken in connection with Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis' election interference case.

Trump has not used X since that day but posts on Truth Social frequently.

Smith is prosecuting two separate federal cases against Trump — one involving his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, the other dealing with classified White House documents stored at Mar-a-Lago.

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