President Trump's personal Twitter is only personal sometimes.
That's what the Department of Justice claimed Tuesday in an ongoing lawsuit, fighting back against Twitter users who argue being blocked from @realDonaldTrump violates their constitutional rights. A DOJ attorney conceded that yes, Trump's tweets are official, but said when he "blocks individuals from his personal Twitter account," he "is doing so in his personal capacity," CNN reports.
A handful of users first launched the lawsuit against Trump after he ignored a June 2017 request to unblock them. A U.S. District Court in New York ruled in their favor last May, saying Trump's Twitter feed was a "public forum," and by blocking users, he was violating the First Amendment.
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A subsequent DOJ appeal brought the case back to court on Tuesday, where Judge Barrington Parker seemed to make his opinion on the matter pretty clear. Parker listed off a slew of announcements made on @realDonaldTrump that seemed pretty official, including a new Federal Reserve board member and revocation of North Korean sanctions, The Washington Post notes. "Are you seriously urging us to believe the president isn't acting in his official capacity when he’s tweeting?" Parker asked, going on to question why a public DOJ defender was representing Trump in a so-called private matter.
Trump unblocked at least 20 accounts in August, though as of Tuesday, at least seven plaintiffs in the case remain blocked.
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