WASHINGTON -- The special counsel investigating former US President Donald Trump secured a search warrant of his Twitter account at the beginning of this year, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing a newly unsealed court filing.

The search was so secret that Twitter was barred from telling Trump the search warrant had been obtained for his account, @realDonaldTrump, and the company, now known as "X," was fined 350,000 US dollars because it delayed producing the records sought under the search warrant, said the report.

The search warrant special counsel Jack Smith obtained sought "data and records related" to Trump's account, said the report, adding that the special counsel's office, which is now working on the criminal case against Trump in Washington, D.C. District Court related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, sought the warrant in January 2023.

Twitter and the special counsel's office spent several months litigating the question of whether Trump should be told about the search warrant. The dispute came to light on Wednesday when the DC Circuit Court of Appeals unsealed a decision upholding a district court ruling in favor of prohibiting Twitter from telling Trump, according to the report.