Donald Trump’s lawsuit to get his precious Twitter account reinstated just suffered an embarrassing setback. Ever since suing the social media platform, Trump’s legal team has attempted to argue that because he used to be president the Terms of Service don’t apply to him. Specifically, the part where any legal disputes against Twitter must be argued in California. Trump’s team has requested that the case stay in the more GOP-friendly state of Florida where the former president resides.
However, that line of reasoning blew up in Trump’s face on Tuesday when Florida federal judge Robert N. Scola ruled that being POTUS does not exempt you from Twitter’s Terms of Service. Via Business Insider:
“The Court finds that Trump’s status as President of the United States does not exclude him from the requirements of the forum selection clause in Twitter’s Terms of Service,” he said.
Thanks to Scola’s ruling, Twitter’s motion to move the case to California has been granted, which the former president’s legal team should’ve expected because this was the second time they got shot down making a similar move. Earlier in the month, a different Florida federal judge appointed by George H.W. Bush also ruled that Trump cannot keep his lawsuit against Twitter in the state.
But even if Trump somehow could keep his lawsuit against Twitter in Florida, which clearly is not the friendly venue he thinks it is, legal experts have been opining for months that his case doesn’t stand a chance. “This is not a lawsuit. It’s a fundraising grift,” a tech expert told Axios back in July.
(Via Business Insider)