Former Twitter employees Vijaya Gadde, James Baker, and Yoel Roth were mercilessly grilled by the Republican dominated Oversight Committee on February 8 for allowing and facilitating coordination with the FBI to disproportionately target Republican leaders, conservative activists, and certain media outlets, under their leadership. In October 2020, Twitter censored the New York Post’s story about the Biden family’s business schemes based on the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop, despite the article not violating any Twitter policies.
Former Twitter employees admitted the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story didn’t violate any Twitter policies but it was taken down anyway. They also admitted they made no attempt to verify the authenticity of the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop during the hearing.
“Isn’t it correct that the Biden campaign had contact with Twitter in the run-up to the 2020 election… And you’re telling this committee that you didn’t ask any Biden representative if the laptop was real or for Hunter Biden’s attorney’s phone number to confirm it’s authenticity?”, asked Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) to which Gadde responded, “We did not speak to anybody related to that.”
“Mr. Roth, Ms. Gadde, and Mr. Baker, it appears to me that you failed at your jobs. You were entrusted with the highest level of power at Twitter, but when you were faced with a New York Post story, instead of allowing people to judge the information for themselves, you rushed to find a reason why the American people shouldn’t see it. In a matter of hours, you were deciding on the truth of a story that spans years and dozens of complex international transactions. You did this because you were terrified of Joe Biden not winning the election in 2020, that’s what it appeared. I can assure you this committee will succeed in holding the Biden’s accountable,” said Rep. Comer.
Representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) pointed out that the former Twitter executives were not only hostile towards conservative voices, but also towards other individuals such as medical experts.
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee’s broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the House.
Representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) pointed out that the former Twitter executives were not only hostile towards conservative voices, but also towards other individuals such as medical experts.
In a video clip that is going viral now Mace is in seen inquiring Gadde on which medical school she went to. “I didn’t go to a medical school,” Gadde responded.
Brutal!
Nancy Mace completely destroyed Twitter's former legal head @vijaya.pic.twitter.com/ot9lNc2fx4
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) February 8, 2023
“Why do you think you or anyone else had the medical expertise to censor a doctor’s expert opinion? Did the U.S. government ever contact you or anyone at Twitter to censor or moderate certain Tweets? Yes or no,” asked Rep. Mace.
“We receive legal demands to remove content from the platform from the U.S. government and governments all around the world,” Gadde responded.
“Thank god for Elon Musk for allowing to show us and the world that Twitter was basically a subsidiary of the FBI, censoring real medical voices with real expertise that put real Americans live in danger because they didn’t have that information,” Mace added.
In his opening statement, Chairman of the committee Comer pointed out that many social media platforms are under the control of people who are hostile to the fundamental American principles of free speech and expression protected in the U.S. Constitution.
Prior to Elon Musk’s takeover of the Twitter, Chairman Comer highlighted how the federal government used Twitter to suppress free speech and pointed out how the FBI advised Twitter executives to question the validity of any Hunter Biden story before the New York Post even reported on the contents of his laptop. Chairman Comer closed by emphasizing the American people deserve answers about Big Tech, mainstream media, and federal government’s collusion to censor information about Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s business schemes.