In a recent revelation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly executed a comprehensive sweep of former President Donald Trump’s Twitter data. According to documents revealed by DOJ attorneys, prosecutors collected an extensive set of data regarding Trump’s social media activity. This included information on every account that liked, followed, or retweeted him.

The search warrant related to this operation was disclosed following a judge’s ruling on November 17. The ruling was the outcome of an application filed by a consortium of media organizations in August, requesting that the warrant and associated data be made public.

Special Counsel Jack Smith is reported to have sought information on all users Trump followed, unfollowed, muted, unmuted, blocked, or unblocked. Additionally, Smith also requested data on users who had interacted with Trump in these ways. The request extended to gathering information on “all lists of Twitter users who have favorited or retweeted tweets posted by [Trump], as well as all tweets that include the username associated with the account (i.e., ‘mentions’ or ‘replies’).”

The U.S. Department of Justice collected data on all Twitter users who "favorited or retweeted tweets" posted by @realDonaldTrump.

Whether you love or hate Trump, this is an extremely disturbing revelation. pic.twitter.com/IhpwZgyoXV

— Young Americans for Liberty (@YALiberty) November 29, 2023

The DOJ’s request for data did not stop there. It also included a demand for information on Trump’s geolocation, private messages, search history, and contact information. In a move that has been criticized as absurd, prosecutors allegedly wanted to know Trump’s pronouns.

Twitter initially objected to the search warrant and the accompanying gag order, arguing that the order violated the company’s First Amendment right to communicate with Trump. Twitter also suggested that Trump might have legal standing to employ executive privilege to block the warrant. However, these objections were ultimately unsuccessful.

District Judge Beryl Howell, appointed by Obama, fined Twitter $350,000 in February for failing to meet a deadline for complying with the order. All of Howell’s rulings were upheld by an appeals court.

This operation is seen by some as a disturbing violation of privacy rights. Not only did it intrude upon Trump’s privacy, but it also potentially implicated everyone who interacted with his account on Twitter. This move is indicative of the DOJ being used as a political weapon rather than serving as an instrument of law enforcement.

The sweeping collection of data from Trump’s Twitter account by the DOJ raises serious questions about privacy rights and the potential misuse of law enforcement bodies for political purposes. It is a development that merits close scrutiny in the ongoing conversation about the balance between security and individual privacy.