Supreme Court Overturns Twitter Employee's Conviction for Spy Case

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the obstruction conviction of Ahmad Abouammo, citing trial location errors. Convicted in California, he had no FBI interactions there. His falsifying document charge was completed in Seattle, where he provided a false invoice to agents. Other charges against him remain.

The U.S. Supreme Court has nullified the obstruction conviction against former Twitter employee Ahmad Abouammo, due to jurisdictional errors in trial proceedings. Abouammo had been convicted in California, although his interactions with FBI had occurred solely at his home in Seattle, Washington, according to a unanimous decision by the justices.

Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, emphasized the importance of proper trial location, stating that the trial for falsifying a document must take place where the document was falsified. This ruling doesn’t affect Abouammo’s other convictions which include espionage-related charges.

Abouammo, who worked at Twitter, reportedly provided confidential information to Saudi officials in return for significant payments. He later relocated to Seattle, where he fabricated a document to mislead FBI agents, leading to the obstruction charge. His lawyer and the U.S. Attorney's Office in California offered no comments.