COMER AND JORDAN ARE FALLING APART – THEIR WITNESSES ARE MAKING SURE OF THAT
The following memo includes the events of 1 oversight committee hearing and 1 weaponization committee hearing. We also looked at 5 Republican-called witnesses. None of the 5 provided evidence that Twitter was used by the federal government to suppress free speech. We looked at 3 witnesses that have appeared privately before the weaponization committee. None of the 3 have had their claims validated, all are traffickers in right-wing conspiracy theories and received financial support from a Trump ally.
Summary
In the last five weeks, Republican Chairmen James Comer and Jim Jordan have repeatedly been debunked by witnesses they brought to their own hearings. Both Comer and Jordan continue to push claims that the federal government suppressed free speech by using Twitter. They do so despite testimony from former Twitter executives directly contradicting their narrative.
During the House Oversight hearing on the so-called Twitter Files, Twitter’s former Head of Trust and Safety, Yoel Roth, testified Twitter’s decision to suppress the Hunter Biden Laptop story was guided by fear of “real Russian activities” and mistakes the company made in 2016. Company whistleblower, Anika Collier Navaroli, then revealed the Trump administration was the one asking to remove tweets disparaging Donald Trump. Twitter’s former Deputy General Counsel, James Baker, denied any allegations of unlawful collusion between the FBI and Twitter.
Then Jordan’s Weaponization committee provided a platform for witnesses that admitted to not fact-checking their own claims prior to publishing them. Republican witness, Michael Shellenberger, admitted to Rep. Goldman during the hearing that he failed to look into evidence debunking false information regarding the New York Post story about Hunter Biden before publicly claiming in his Twitter Files that every single fact in the New York Post story was accurate. Shellenberger then claimed he “did not find” any evidence of right-wing elements or the Trump White House attempting to moderate Twitter content – despite previous witness testimony showing Trump’s efforts to remove Chrissy Teigen’s tweet calling him a “pussy ass bitch.”
Jordan’s other witness during the hearing, Matt Taibbi, was heralded by popular right-wing figures like Steve Bannon, who claimed watching his testimony was like watching “Alex Jones testifying.” Jones is known for owing nearly a billion dollars due to his false claims about the Sandy Hook shooting. Taibbi was flippant of the FBI’s efforts to curtail Russian misinformation despite the country’s history of attacks against the United States. Taibbi was hesitant when responding to questions on whether journalists should avoid publishing biased, incomplete information. Taibbi even refused to give a straight answer when it came to removing Kanye West’s antisemitic tweets from being accessible to the public.
Meanwhile, Jordan has continued to push allegations of dozens of federal government whistleblowers who have come to his office with stories of discrimination and bias. So far, three witnesses have been interviewed by House Judiciary staff and none of them had their claims validated. Democrats on the panel revealed the witnesses were a trio of misinformation traffickers, some of which had been financially supported by a Trump ally, Kash Patel.
One witness, Stephen Friend, a former special agent in the FBI’s Daytona office, refused to participate in a SWAT raid of a January 6th suspect – notably the suspect was a member of the Three-Percenter movement, an anti-government organization with a history of violence towards citizens and law enforcement. Friend apparently testified about having to surveil a person who attended a school board meeting. The person in question was a member of the Three-Percenter movement, under counterterrorism investigation and was later arrested.
Jordan and Comer Were Repeatedly Debunked By Their Own Witnesses During The Oversight Committee Twitter Hearing
JORDAN AND COMET CONTINUE TO REPEAT THE SAME CONSPIRACY THEORY – THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUPPRESSED FREE SPEECH BY USING TWITTER
Chairman James Comer Claimed Twitter Was Used By The Federal Government To Limit Free Speech Despite Not Having The Constitutional Power To Do So. “‘Twitter … was a private company that the federal government used to do what it cannot: limit the constitutional free exercise of speech,’ said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, flanked by a poster displaying the New York Post story’” [Washington Post, 2/8/23]
Chairman Jim Jordan Claimed The Government Built A “Cozy Relationship” With Big Tech, Which It Weaponized In Reference To The New York Post’s Story About The Hunter Biden Laptop. “Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the committee, charged that the ‘government built a cozy relationship with Big Tech’ — referencing communications reported by Taibbi and Shellenberger in the Twitter Files. He also cited the platform’s decision to block a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020 after intelligence officials said they suspected it could have been the result of a Russian intelligence operation. ‘The information op was run on us, run on we the people. And if that’s not the weaponization of government, I don’t know what is,’ Jordan said.” [The Hill, 3/9/23]
TESTIMONY FROM FORMET TWITTER EXECUTIVES AT THE REPUBLICAN-LED HEARING DIRECTLY CONTRADICTED THE REPUBLICANS’ NARRATIVE
HEADLINE: “GOP Lawmakers Allege Big Tech Conspiracy, Even As Ex-Twitter Employees Rebut Them” [Washington Post, 2/8/23]
Washington Post: The Testimony Of Former Twitter Executives Contradicted Republican’s Unsubstantial Allegations Of Collusion. “The testimony of former Twitter executives repeatedly contradicted these accusations. Still, Republicans plowed ahead with unsubstantial allegations of collusion between government officials and the company’s old regime.” [Washington Post, 2/8/23]
TWITTER’S FORMER HEAD OF TRUST AND SAFETY TESTIFIED TWITTER’S DECISION WAS GUIDED BY “REAL RUSSIAN ACTIVITIES” AND PAST MISTAKES
Yoel Roth, Twitter’s Former Head of Trust And Safety, Testified There Was A Lot Of Confusion Over How To Handle A Story Potentially From Malign Foreign Actors, So Twitter Erred To Avoid Repeating Mistakes Made In 2016. “Twitter’s former Head of Trust and Safety Yoel Roth testified there was a lot of confusion over how to handle the story amid an increased emphasis on tackling misinformation — specifically from malign foreign actors — on their platform. ‘It isn’t obvious what the right response is to a suspected but not confirmed cyberattack by another government on a presidential election,’ Roth said. ‘I believe Twitter erred in this case because we wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes of 2016.’” [CNN, 2/8/23]
Roth Even Personally Disagreed With The Decision To Temporarily Suppress The Laptop Story, But Said The Company’s Judgement Was Affected By “Real Russian Activities.” “Roth said he personally disagreed with the decision to temporarily suppress the laptop story, but said that the company’s judgment was colored by the “real Russian activities they we saw play out that year.’” [CNN, 2/8/23]
WHISTLEBLOWER ANIKA COLLIER NAVAROLI BROUGHT FORWARD TESTIMONY ALLEGING THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ASKED TWITTER TO REMOVE TWEETS
Company Whistleblower, Anika Collier Navaroli, Brought Forward Testimony That Alleged The Trump White House Asked Twitter To Remove An Insulting Tweet About The President. “At times, the hearing veered away from Republican aims as Anika Collier Navaroli, a company whistleblower, brought forward new testimony alleging that conservatives influenced the social network. The company changed its policies to accommodate President Donald Trump’s rule-breaking tweet, according to Navaroli, and the Trump White House asked Twitter to remove an insulting tweet about the president, posted by the television personality Chrissy Teigen.” [Washington Post, 2/8/23]
JAMES BAKER, TWITTER’S FORMER DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL, DENIED ALLEGATIONS OF UNLAWFUL COLLUSION AND CONSPIRACY
James Baker, Twitter’s Former Deputy General Counsel, Claimed He Did Not “Engage In Any Conspiracy” And Was Not Aware of Any “Unlawful Collusion” With Or From Any Government Agency Regarding How Twitter Should Have Handled The Hunter Biden Laptop Story. “James Baker, Twitter’s former deputy general counsel, said, ‘I was not aware of and certainly did not engage in any conspiracy’ with government or campaign officials to suppress the story. ‘Moreover, I’m aware of no unlawful collusion with or direction from any government agency or political campaign on how Twitter should have handled the Hunter Biden laptop situation,’ Baker said.” [NBC News, 2/8/23]
Weaponization Committee Witnesses Admitted To Not Fact-Checking Claims Before Publishing Them And Were Compared To The Likes Of “Alex Jones”
MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER ADMITTED TO REP. GOLDMAN THAT HE HAD A HISTORY OF PUBLISHING CONTENT PRIOR TO FACT-CHECKING HIS CLAIMS
Michael Shellenberger Admitted To Rep. Goldman That He Did Not Look Into Evidence Debunking False Information Included In The Hunter Biden New York Post Story Before Claiming Publicly That Every Single Fact Of The Story Was Accurate. GOLDMAN: “You said in your Twitter files, am I correct, that every single fact in the New York Post [Hunter Biden Laptop] story was accurate?” SHELLENBERGER: “yes” […] GOLDMAN: “I’d like to enter into the record the Trump-Ukraine impeachment inquiry report. 300 pages by the House intelligence committee, did you review this report before you said every fact in this [New York Post] story as accurate?” […] SHELLENBERGER: “Did I read that before I wrote the Twitter Files? No” GOLDMAN: “If you read this you would have known […] that story, not withstanding your allegations, was false.” [Hearing on Twitter Documents About Content Moderation Decisions, House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, CSPAN, 3/9/23] (VIDEO) (2:05:00-2:06:24)
SHELLENBERGER CLAIMED TO HAVE NOT FOUND EVIDENCE OF THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ATTEMPTING TO MODERATE TWITTER CONTENT…
Shellenberger Claimed He “Did Not Find” Evidence Of Right-Wing Elements Or The Trump White House Attempting To Moderate Twitter Content. “‘So when you release information, have you released any information of, for example, right-wing elements or the Trump White House attempting to moderate content at Twitter?’ Connolly pressed. ‘No, not the Trump White House per se, although I did report initially in the first Twitter Files that the Trump White House had made and requests and had been honored,’ Taibbi replied. ‘Mr. Shellenberger?’ Connolly asked. ‘I did not find that,’ Shellenberger replied.” [Mediaite, 3/9/23]
… DESPITE PRIOR WITNESS TESTIMONY FROM FORMER TWITTER EXECUTIVES CLAIMING THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE REQUESTED CHRISSY TEIGEN’S TWEER REFERRING TO TRUMP AS A “PUSSY ASS BITCH” BE REMOVED
Connolly Pointed Out That During The Oversight Committee Twitter Hearing, Four Witnesses Testified Under Oath To Having Never Received Content Moderation Requests Or Takedowns By The Biden White House, Only From Trump’s White House. ““You haven’t found it?” shot back Connolly. “So we had a hearing the other day on Twitter, and we had four witnesses, three for the majority, one for the minority, and all four testified under oath. They had never received a request for content moderation or takedown by the Biden White House, but they did from Donald Trump’s White House.”” [Mediaite, 3/9/23]
- Vanity Fair: “Yes, The Trump White House Demanded Twitter Remove Chrissy Teigen’s Tweet Calling Trump A “Pussy Ass Bitch” [Vanity Fair, 2/8/23]
MATT TAIBBI’S TESTIMONY WAS PRAISED BY RIGHT-WING FIGURES AND COMPARED TO “ALEX JONES TESTIFYING”
Headline: “Steve Bannon Gushes Over Matt Taibbi’s Testimony: ‘That Literally Could Be Alex Jones Testifying’” [Raw Story, 3/9/23]
Steve Bannon Compared Republican Witness Matt Taibbi To Alex Jones – A Man Known For Owing Nearly A Billion Dollars Due To History Of False Claims
Steve Bannon Aired A Portion Of Matt Taibbi’s Testimony On His Podcast And Claimed “That Literally Could Be Alex Jones Testifying There.” “On his Thursday War Room broadcast, Bannon aired a portion of Taibbi’s testimony before a House committee on government ‘weaponization’ of social media. ‘That, in fact, is a key point of the Twitter files that is neither a left nor right issue,’ Taibbi said in the clip. ‘Following the trail of communications between Twitter and the federal government across tens of thousands of emails led to a series of revelations.’ Following the clip, Bannon welcomed Jones to the show. ‘Alex, you’ve been warning people — the reason I want to play that quote from Matt ‘s Taibbi opening,’ Bannon said. ‘You’ve warned about this. That literally could be Alex Jones testifying there. You’ve warned the nation about this for many, many years.’” [Raw Story, 3/9/23]
- A Judge In Connecticut Found Alex Jones Should Pay Nearly A Billion Dollars For His False Claims About The Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting. “The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay $965 million to people who suffered from his false claim that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax, a jury in Connecticut decided Wednesday.” [PBS, 10/12/22]
TAIBBI WAS HESITANT WHEN RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS ON WHETHER JOURNALISTS SHOULD AVOID PUBLISHING INCOMPLETE, CHERRY-PICKED INFORMATION
Taibbi Claimed “I Think It Depends,” When Asked Whether Journalists Should Avoid Cherry-Picked Information If It’s Likely To Be Slanted, Incomplete, Or Designed To Have An Invalid Conclusion. Wasserman Schultz: “Mr. Taibbi, I want to ask about journalistic ethics and information sources. The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics asserts that journalists should avoid political activities that can compromise integrity or credibility. Being a Republican witness today certainly casts a cloud over your objectivity. But a deeper concern that I have relates to the ethics of how journalists receive and present certain information. Journalists should avoid accepting spoon-fed, cherry-picked information if it’s likely to be slanted, incomplete or designed to reach a foregone, easily disputed, or invalid conclusion. Would you agree with that? Taibbi: I think it’s — I think it depends.” [Mediaite, 3/9/23]
TAIBBI WAS UNSURE ON WHETHER KANYE WEST’S ANTI-SEMITIC TWEET DEPICTING A SWASTIKA SHOULD’VE REMAINED PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE
Taibbi Claimed “I Think It’s A Difficult Question” When Asked Whether Kanye West’s Tweet Depicting A Swastika In The Middle Of A Star Of David Should’ve Been Taken Down By Twitter. “‘It’s a, would you describe it? As a Star of David with the swastika in the middle of it? Should those tweets have been taken down by Twitter?” Allred asked. ‘I think it’s a difficult question. Hate speech is protected in the United States,’ Taibbi responded, adding:” [Mediaite, 3/9/23]
TAIBBI WAS SKEPTICAL OF THE FBI’S EFFORTS TO CURTAIL RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION DESPITE THE COUNTRY’S HISTORY OF HACKING ATTACKS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES
Matt Taibbi Admitted To Rep. Goldman That He Was Skeptical Of The FBI’s Efforts To Deter Russian Disinformation And Referred To It As Not “Actual Interference.” “The Twitter Files provided evidence that the FBI had reached out to social media companies with a warning about the Hunter Biden laptop story published by The New York Post just before the 2020 presidential election. The agency worried that the story could be part of a Russian disinformation campaign to influence the election, as foreign adversaries did in 2016. Asked whether he believed it was ‘a legitimate objective’ for the FBI to try to “stop foreign interference in our elections,’ Taibbi said: ‘I think it’s a legitimate objective to stop actual interference.’ ‘OK. I don’t know what the difference is, but that’s fine,’ Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) responded.” [Huffington Post, 3/9/23]
- On July 13, 2018 A Federal Grand Jury In Washington D.C. Indicted 12 Russian Military Intelligence Officers For Their Interference With The 2016 United States Election. “On July 13, 2018, a federal grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia returned an indictment against 12 Russian military intelligence officers for their alleged roles in interfering with the 2016 United States (U.S.) elections. The indictment charges 11 defendants, Boris Alekseyevich Antonov, Dmitriy Sergeyevich Badin, Nikolay Yuryevich Kozachek, Aleksey Viktorovich Lukashev, Artem Andreyevich Malyshev, Sergey Aleksandrovich Morgachev, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Osadchuk, Aleksey Aleksandrovich Potemkin, Ivan Sergeyevich Yermakov, Pavel Vyacheslavovich Yershov, and Viktor Borisovich Netyksho, with a computer hacking conspiracy involving gaining unauthorized access into the computers of U.S. persons and entities involved in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, stealing documents from those computers, and staging releases of the stolen documents to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.” [Federal Bureau of Investigation, accessed 3/12/23]
Jim Jordan Has Failed To Produce Credible Whistleblower Testimonies And Instead Embraced And Enabled Dangerous Far-Right Groups
JORDAN HAS REPEATEDLY TOUTED ALLEGATIONS OF DOZENS OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WHISTLEBLOWERS
Jordan Previously Touted Allegations Of Dozens Of Federal Government Whistleblowers With Stories Of Discrimination And Bias – But Has Yet To Answer Questions Raised By Democrats Regarding Their Legitimacy. “As CNN has previously reported, Jordan has touted the allegations of what he asserts are ‘dozens’ of federal government whistleblowers who he says have come to his office with stories of discrimination and bias. But Democrats have raised questions about their legitimacy as whistleblowers and the relevance of their testimony.” [CNN 3/4/23]
THREE OF JORDAN’S WITNESSES HAVE COME IN FOR INTERVIEWS WITH HOUSE JUDICIARY STAFF – NONE OF THEM HAVE HAD THEIR CLAIMS VALIDATED NOR WERE THEY GRANTED WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION
Three Of Jordan’s Witnesses Came In For Interviews With House Judiciary Committee Staff – None Of Them Had Their Claims Validated By Government Entities That Grant Federal Whistleblower Protection. “As of Thursday, three of Jordan’s witnesses had come in for private interviews with House Judiciary Committee staff. None of them appear to have had their claims validated by government entities that grant federal whistleblower protection, sources familiar with their testimony said. [CNN 3/4/23]
Several Supposed Whistleblowers Who Have Not Come In For Interviews Were Suspended From The FBI For Being At The US Capitol On January 6th. “Separately, several other supposed whistleblowers who have not come in for interviews were suspended from the FBI for being at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to multiple sources familiar with the committee’s work.” [CNN 3/4/23]
One Claimed There Was FBI Wrongdoing But Had Their Claims Rejected, Another Is Retired And Their Testimony May Not Be Based On First-Hand Knowledge Of The Violations. “Three of Jordan’s witnesses have come in for private interviews with committee staff so far. None of them appear to have had their claims validated by government entities that grant federal whistleblower protection, sources familiar with their testimony said. One who alleged there was FBI wrongdoing had their claims rejected. Another is retired and it’s unclear whether he has first-hand knowledge of the violations he alleges. The third has not revealed his direct disclosures or FBI suspension notice to House Democrats, according to transcripts reviewed by CNN.” [CNN, 3/2/22]
DEMOCRATS REVEALED THAT JORDAN’S ALLEGED WHISTLEBLOWERS WERE A TRIO OF MISINFORMATION PEDDLERS SOME OF WHICH WERE FUNDED BY A TRUMP ALLY
Democrats On The Panel Revealed The Alleged Whistleblowers Were A Trio Of Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory Traffickers And Received Financial Support From An Ally Of Donald Trump. “But the first three witnesses to testify privately before the new Republican-led House committee investigating the ‘weaponization’ of the federal government have offered little firsthand knowledge of any wrongdoing or violation of the law, according to Democrats on the panel who have listened to their accounts. Instead, the trio appears to be a group of aggrieved former F.B.I. officials who have trafficked in right-wing conspiracy theories, including about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol, and received financial support from a top ally of former President Donald J. Trump.” [New York Times, 3/2/23]
The Men Interviewed By The House Judiciary Panel’s Investigators Were George Hill, Stephen Friend, And Garret O’Boyle. “The document centers on three men who have been interviewed by the panel’s investigators: George Hill, a retired F.B.I. supervisory intelligence analyst from the bureau’s Boston field office; Stephen Friend, a former special agent who worked in the Daytona Beach office; and Garret O’Boyle, a special agent from the field office in Wichita, Kan., who has been suspended.” [New York Times, 3/2/23]
O’Boyle And Friend Testified They Received Financial Support From Trump Loyalist, And Former High Ranking Official In The Trump Administration, Kash Patel – Patel Sent One Republican Witness $5,000 Immediately After Connecting. “Mr. O’Boyle and Mr. Friend both testified that they had received financial support from Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist and former high-ranking official in the former president’s administration. Mr. Friend said Mr. Patel sent him $5,000 almost immediately after they connected in November 2022 and that Mr. Patel has helped to promote Mr. Friend’s forthcoming book on social media.” [New York Times, 3/2/23]
ONE WITNESS REFUSED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SWAT RAID OF A MEMBER OF THE THREE PERCENTERS – A RADICAL FAR-RIGHT GROUP WITH A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
One Witness, Stephen Friend, Refused To Participate In A SWAT Raid Of A January 6th Suspect – Notably The Suspect Was A Member Of The Three-Percenter Movement. “Mr. Friend has said he refused to take part in a S.W.A.T. raid of a Jan. 6 suspect facing misdemeanor charges, which at the time he called an “excessive use of force,” to which he was a “conscientious objector.” The suspect, Tyler Bensch, was accused of being a member of a right-wing militia group connected to the Three Percenter movement. Documents in Mr. Bensch’s case indicate that on Jan. 6, 2021, he posted a video of himself outside the Capitol wearing body armor and a gas mask and carrying an AR-15-style rifle.” [New York Times, 3/2/23]
Friend Testified About Being Asked To Surveil A Person Who Attended A School Board Meeting – The Person In Question Was A Member Of The Three Percenter Movement And Under Counterterrorism Investigation And Was Later Arrested. “Mr. Friend also testified about being asked to surveil a person attending a school board meeting, touching on a claim promoted by Republicans that the government mistreated conservative parents. But according to the report, Mr. Friend conceded during his interview that the man being tracked was a Three Percenter who was under counterterrorism investigation. He was later arrested with Mr. Bensch and three other individuals.” [New York Times, 3/2/23]
- SPLC: Three Percenters Engage In Paramilitary Training And Organizing Under The Belief That A Small Force Can Overthrow A Tyrannical Government – Their Actions Have Repeatedly Led To Violence Against Citizens, Law Enforcement, And Residents. “Three Percenters often draw parallels between the U.S. government today and the British government in the 1700s, arguing that the current U.S. government is tyrannical and actively working to infringe on Americans’ Constitutional rights and liberties. They believe a small force of armed individuals can overthrow a tyrannical government, and many Three Percenters engage in paramilitary training and organizing to do so. Three Percenterism is at its core a vanguard extremist movement that claims to be ready to carry out armed resistance to perceived tyranny. Their perceptions of tyranny emanate from the radical conspiracy theories and paranoia rooted in the decades-old antigovernment extremist movement, and have repeatedly led to violence against America’s law enforcement, citizens and residents.” [Three Percenters, Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 3/11/23; Anti-Defamation League, accessed 3/11/23]