US Supreme Court Overturns Obstruction Conviction Of Former Twitter Employee
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned an obstruction conviction against former Twitter employee Ahmad Abouammo, ruling that prosecutors brought the charge in the wrong state despite securing a guilty verdict from a California jury.
The unanimous decision focused on a conviction related to falsifying a document to impede an FBI investigation. While the court agreed that the offence itself is generally straightforward to establish, it concluded that federal law limits where such a case can be tried.
Supreme Court Focuses On Trial Venue
Writing for the court, Justice Elena Kagan said the key issue was not whether the document had been falsified, but where the alleged conduct occurred.
According to the ruling, a prosecution for falsifying a document to obstruct an investigation must be brought in the location where the document was created or altered. Kagan noted that Abouammo’s actions took place in Seattle, placing the matter within the jurisdiction of the Western District of Washington rather than California.
As a result, the Supreme Court determined that the Justice Department improperly obtained the obstruction conviction in San Francisco in 2022.
Other Convictions Remain Intact
However, the ruling did not affect the other criminal convictions against Abouammo. Those convictions include acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government as well as wire fraud and honest services fraud offences.
Abouammo, 47, had originally received a prison sentence of three-and-a-half years. Nevertheless, he was released from custody in June 2025 while his appeal remained pending.
Following the ruling, attorney Tobias Loss-Eaton, who represents Abouammo, declined to comment. Meanwhile, representatives of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Allegations Linked To Twitter Employment
Abouammo worked at Twitter between 2013 and 2015 before the social media platform was acquired by Elon Musk and renamed X. During his time at the company, he served as media partnerships manager for the Middle East and North Africa region.
Prosecutors alleged that while working from Twitter’s San Francisco office, Abouammo supplied confidential information to a Saudi official concerning two Saudi dissidents who were active on the platform. In return, prosecutors said he received a watch valued at $42,000 and two wire transfers of $100,000 each.
FBI Investigation And Fake Invoice
After leaving Twitter, Abouammo moved to Seattle and launched a social media consulting business.
Court records showed that two FBI agents based in San Francisco travelled to Seattle to interview him at his home. During that interview, prosecutors said Abouammo denied providing confidential information to the Saudi official and maintained that the payments were compensation for consulting services.
When agents requested documents supporting that explanation, prosecutors alleged that Abouammo created a false invoice and emailed it to one of the investigators. That document later formed the basis of the obstruction charge that the Supreme Court has now overturned on venue grounds.
With inputs from Reuters