Trump's Twitter is personal — except when he tweets, DOJ argues


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Biden creates White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Speed Read The office will be led by Vice President Kamala Harris
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge denies Mark Meadows' request to move Georgia case to federal court
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dies at 75
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge schedules Trump federal election plot trial for crowded March 2024
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin ally-turned-rival, presumed dead in plane crash
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published