HEADING WEST

A federal judge in Florida on Tuesday said former President Trump’s legal effort to have his Twitter account restored must be heard in California.

Miami-based U.S. District Judge Robert Scola Jr. ruled that Trump agreed to be bound by Twitter’s terms of service in 2009 when he created his @realdonaldtrump handle while he was a private citizen. Those terms include a so-called forum selection clause requiring that suits against the San Francisco-based company be brought to federal court in Northern California.

Scola, an Obama appointee, rejected Trump’s claim that his position as a sitting president should exempt him from that requirement.

“Trump’s former status as the President of the United States does not preclude the application of the forum selection clause,” Scola wrote in a 13-page ruling.