WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it won’t hear an appeal from the social media platform X over a search warrant prosecutors obtained in the election-interference case against former President Donald Trump.
The justices did not explain their reasoning and there were no noted dissents.
The company, known as Twitter before it was purchased by billionaire Elon Musk, says a nondisclosure order that blocked it from telling Trump about the warrant obtained by special counsel Jack Smith’s team violated its First Amendment rights.
The company also argues Trump should have had a chance to exert executive privilege. If not reined in, the government could use similar tactics to invade other privileged communications, their lawyers argued.
Two nonpartisan electronic privacy groups also weighed in, encouraging the high court to take the case on First Amendment grounds.
Prosecutors, though, say the company never showed Trump had used the account for official purposes so executive privilege wouldn't be an issue. A lower court also found that telling Trump could have jeopardized the ongoing investigation.
Trump used his Twitter account in the weeks leading up to his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to spread false statements about the election that prosecutors allege were designed to sow mistrust in the democratic process.
The indictment details how Trump used his Twitter account to encourage his followers to come to Washington on Jan. 6, pressured his Vice President Mike Pence to reject the certification and falsely suggested that the mob at the Capitol — which beat police officers and smashed windows — was peaceful.
That case is now inching forward after the Supreme Court’s ruling in July giving Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution as a former president.
The warrant arrived at Twitter amid rapid changes instituted by Musk, who purchased the platform in 2022 and has since laid off much of its staff, including workers dedicated to ferreting out misinformation and hate speech.
He also welcomed back a long list of users who had been previously banned, including Trump, and endorsed him in the 2024 presidential race.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk listens as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court took the bench again on Monday, ready to hear cases on ghost guns, a death sentence and transgender rights.
Seated in front of the courtroom's sweeping marble columns, Chief Justice John Roberts announced the formal end of the court's previous term, when a series of blockbuster cases included an opinion granting broad immunity to former President Donald Trump.
He then gaveled in the start of the court's new term. The docket isn't as packed, but the conservative-majority court could yet be asked to intervene in election disputes after the ballots are cast in November.
The justices then heard their first case dealing with pandemic-era unemployment claims filed in Alabama.
The term's beginning comes after a relatively busy summer hiatus for the court. The orders they issued on emergency appeals included a refusal to restore President Joe Biden’s student loan plan and a partial approval of an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship to vote.
The new term opens against the backdrop of low public trust in the Supreme Court, and continued debate about whether its newly adopted code of ethics should have an enforcement mechanism.
Here’s a look at some of the cases coming up:
The justices will hear a case Tuesday on regulations for ghost guns, privately made weapons that are hard for police to track because they don't have serial numbers.
The number of the firearms found at crime scenes has soared in recent years, from fewer than 4,000 in 2018 to nearly 20,000 recovered by law enforcement in 2021, according to Justice Department data.
The numbers have been declining in multiple cities since the Biden administration began requiring background checks and age verification for ghost gun kits that can be bought online.
But manufacturers and gun rights groups argue that the administration overstepped and the rule should be overturned.
In the decades since Richard Glossip was sentenced to die over a 1997 murder-for-hire scheme, the case has become a rare one where prosecutors are conceding mistakes.
Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general has joined with Glossip in seeking to overturn his murder conviction and death sentence.
Despite those doubts, an Oklahoma appeals court has upheld Glossip’s conviction, and the state’s pardon and parole board deadlocked in a vote to grant him clemency.
The court will hear arguments in his case on Wednesday.
Perhaps the court's most closely watched case so far this year is a fight over transgender rights.
The case over state bans on gender-affirming care comes as Republican-led states enact a variety of restrictions, including school sports participation, bathroom usage and drag shows.
The administration and Democratic-led states have extended protections for transgender people, though the Supreme Court has separately prohibited the administration from enforcing a new federal regulation that seeks to protect transgender students.
The justices will weigh a Tennessee law that restricts puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors. The case does not yet have a hearing date but will likely be argued in December.
Supreme Court taking the bench with ghost guns, a capital case and transgender rights on the docket
Supreme Court taking the bench with ghost guns, a capital case and transgender rights on the docket
FILE - The Supreme Court is pictured, June 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
