Trump's Twitter Is 'Evidentiary Gold' for Prosecutors: Kirschner

Access to former President Donald Trump's Twitter account would be "evidentiary gold" for prosecutors, according to former federal prosecutor and legal expert Glenn Kirschner.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly obtained a search warrant for Trump's account in January as part of its investigation into the former president's actions leading up to the siege on the U.S. Capitol. The social media platform, which is now called X, resisted efforts to turn over Trump's account, which ultimately resulted in a $350,000 fine.

Trump is facing four criminal counts related to the DOJ's probe, which resulted in accusations that Trump attempted to remain in office after losing to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The former president has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and has repeatedly claimed that they are a form of "election interference" to upset his reelection chances in 2024.

It is unclear what exactly Special Counsel Jack Smith was hoping to gain by issuing the warrant, although Kirschner said during his latest Justice Matters podcast that the "answer is really pretty simple."

"Everything that Donald Trump posts on social media, including on Twitter, is what we call a statement by a party opponent," Kirschner, a repeated critic of Trump, said. "These are admissions that can be introduced as incriminating evidence against Donald Trump at trial."

Trump posted on his Truth Social account Wednesday as if he had just found out about the search warrant, and claimed that it was "a major 'hit' on my civil rights." But Kirschner argued against that sentiment, adding that in order for prosecutors to have obtained the search warrant from a judge in the first place, they would have had to prove that Trump's account would contain "incriminating evidence."

"Part of what we have to prove when prosecutors want to use social media posts as evidence at trial is that the defendant is the one who made the posts," Kirschner continued, adding, "You can easily envision Donald Trump trying to claim, 'I didn't make those posts.'"

In the 45-page indictment filed at the beginning of the month, prosecutors point to several of Trump's tweets made in the weeks leading up to the Capitol riot, including a post on December 19, 2020, that called on his supporters to hold a "wild" protest on January 6, 2021. The indictment also suggests that Trump himself issued the tweets.

Kirschner suggested that Smith likely also sought to obtain Trump's cell site information during his investigation, which could help narrow down the former president's general location at the time that the posts in question were made.

"So, if tweets are being posted at midnight and two in the morning and four in the morning, when Donald Trump's aides and assistants ... are not at the White House," Kirschner continued. "Well, they're [prosecutors] going to be able to prove inferentially, they're going to be able to persuade the jury based on all the evidence from his Twitter account and from his cell site information, that it was Donald Trump making those posts, nobody else."

Kristy Greenberg, former deputy chief of the Southern District of New York's criminal division, told MSNBC earlier this week that prosecutors were likely hoping to prove that the damning tweets posted on Trump's account during the riot of January 6, 2021, were in fact posted by the former president himself.

Greenberg also noted that Twitter stores location and GPS information, which could provide "really precise" details about when and where Trump's tweets were sent.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's press team via email Thursday night for comment.

In a court filing on Thursday, Smith requested that Trump's 2020 election trial be set for January 2. The former president is already scheduled to begin trial on his other two criminal indictments before the Republican National Committee officially selects its next presidential nominee in July.

Trump erupted over his Truth Social account Thursday evening in response to the proposed timeline, calling Smith "deranged" and an "out of touch lunatic."

"Deranged Jack Smith has just asked for a trial on the Biden Indictment to take place on January 2nd., just ahead of the important Iowa Caucuses," Trump wrote. "Only an out of touch lunatic would ask for such a date, ONE DAY into the New Year, and maximum Election Interference with IOWA!"

"Such a trial, which should never take place due to my First Amendment Rights, and massive BIDEN CORRUPTION, should only happen, if at all, AFTER THE ELECTION," he added. "The same with other Fake Biden Indictments. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"