The US Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the obstruction conviction of a former Twitter employee accused of spying for Saudi Arabia, ruling that he was tried in the wrong state. The unanimous decision stated that Ahmad Abouammo was improperly convicted in California for knowingly falsifying a document to impede an FBI investigation, as his interactions with agents occurred in Washington state.
Ruling Details
Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, explained that the offense of falsifying a document to obstruct an investigation must be tried where the document was falsified. In this case, that location was Seattle, within the western district of Washington. The ruling did not affect other counts on which Abouammo was convicted, including acting as an unregistered foreign agent and wire fraud.
Background of the Case
Abouammo, 47, worked at Twitter from 2013 to 2015 as a media partnerships manager for the Middle East and North Africa. Prosecutors alleged he provided confidential information about Saudi dissidents to a Saudi official in exchange for a $42,000 watch and two $100,000 wire transfers. After moving to Seattle, he was interviewed by FBI agents at his home, where he denied the allegations and created a fake invoice to support his story, leading to the obstruction charge.
Abouammo was initially sentenced to 3.5 years in prison but was released in June 2025 while his appeal was pending. His lawyer declined to comment, and representatives for the US attorney's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
