Feds lose Supreme Court duel over Twitter-era obstruction probe
Source: Courthouse News Service
June 11, 2026
WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court found errors Thursday in the federal government’s obstruction charge against a former Twitter employee accused of leaking confidential documents.
Despite interacting only with FBI agents at his home in Seattle, Ahmad Abouammo was charged with falsifying documents in San Francisco. The federal government argued venue was proper there because Abouammo’s obstructive conduct — an email sent to agents — was directed at an FBI investigation based in San Francisco.
In a short, unanimous ruling, the justices disagreed, holding that venue for the offense lies only where the defendant falsified a document.
“We hold that a defendant charged with violating §1519 must be tried in the district where the falsification occurred; he cannot be tried in a different district where the investigation was located,” Justice Elena Kagan, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote for the court, citing the statute that makes it a crime to knowingly falsify a document with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.
Read more: https://courthousenews.com/feds-lose-supreme-court-duel-over-twitter-era-obstruction-probe/
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/abouammo-scotus-opinion.pdf
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