The social media platform X has agreed to pay President Trump $10 million to resolve a lawsuit regarding the nearly two-year suspension of his account following the events of January 6 at the Capitol, according to a source familiar with the situation who spoke with CBS News on Wednesday.
The White House opted not to comment when approached by CBS News.
X, previously known as Twitter, prohibited Mr. Trump from using the platform in January 2021, just two days after the Capitol riots. At that time, Twitter stated the permanent suspension was “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
In July 2021, Mr. Trump filed a lawsuit against Twitter, asserting that the suspension infringed upon his First Amendment right to free speech. A U.S. district judge dismissed the lawsuit in May 2022. Nevertheless, Mr. Trump’s legal team appealed the decision, and the appeal was still pending as of this week, as reported first by the Wall Street Journal, which also disclosed the settlement.
In November 2022, shortly after billionaire Elon Musk acquired Twitter — which he subsequently renamed X — he restored Mr. Trump’s account.
Musk currently leads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency as a special government employee directly accountable to Mr. Trump and was a significant financial contributor to Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.
At the end of last month, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, paid $25 million to Mr. Trump to settle a 2021 lawsuit pertaining to its own suspension of his accounts following the Capitol incident. His Facebook and Twitter accounts were restored in 2023.
