Special Counsel Jack Smith has indicated his intention to utilize data from the mobile device used by former President Trump during his final tenure in office.
This includes data that reveals when Trump's phone was "unlocked and the Twitter application was open" on January 6, 2021, as stated in a recent court filing.
In a court document submitted on Monday, Smith informed the court of his plan to summon "expert" witnesses to testify in the impending trial against Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner. The trial is scheduled to commence on March 4, a day before voters in several states participate in Super Tuesday primaries.
According to the court filing, one of the experts Smith intends to call possesses "knowledge, skill, experience, training, and education beyond the ordinary lay person regarding the analysis of cellular phone data, including the use of Twitter and other applications on cell phones."
Smith suggests in the filing that the expert will be capable of testifying that they "extracted and processed data from the White House cell phones" used by Trump and another unidentified individual. The identity of this second individual remains undisclosed.
The expert, Smith stated, will also testify that they "reviewed and analyzed data" on Trumps phone and on "Individual 1s" phone, "including analyzing images found on the phones and websites visited." The expert has "determined the usage of these phones throughout the post-election period, including on and around January 6, 2021" and has "specifically identified the periods of time during which the defendants phone was unlocked and the Twitter application was open on January 6."
In August, Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court to all four federal charges arising from Smith's investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
The cell phone data Smith intends to use in the trial supplements Trumps direct messages on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, despite the company's attempts to restrict access. Unsealed court documents in August revealed that Smith's team obtained location data and draft tweets in addition to the former president's messages.
Lawyers for the company, now named X Corp., tried to obstruct and delay the effort in January and February, leading a federal judge to speculate that X owner and one-time CEO Elon Musk was attempting to align himself with Trump. However, the social media giant ultimately lost the battle and was compelled to surrender an extensive list of data related to the "@realdonaldtrump" account, including all tweets "created, drafted, favorited/liked, or retweeted."
On Monday, Smith requested the Supreme Court to decide on whether Trump can be prosecuted on charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. A federal judge ruled that the case could proceed, but Trump stated he would appeal to the federal appeals court in Washington to reverse that decision. Smith is trying to circumvent the appeals court the usual next step in the process and have the Supreme Court directly address the issue.
Late on Monday, the Supreme Court asked Trumps lawyers to respond to the special counsel's motion by Wednesday, December 20 two days later than Smith had requested. The Courts next scheduled conference day for consideration of such matters is January 5, 2024. The court's brief order did not indicate its eventual decision.
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