Some former Twitter executives faced some real heat as members of Congress asked them questions about the allegations that the company suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story on purpose so that they could affect the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Yoel Roth, a former Twitter executive said that Twitter’s decision to suppress the laptop story came due to fears that it was Russian disinformation. He said that they did not want to affect the outcome of the election by helping share what they thought was bogus information.
“Twitter noticed activity related to the laptop that at first glance bore a lot of similarities to the 2016 Russian hack and leak operation targeting the DNC,” Roth said while being questioned by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. “We had to decide what to do. And in that moment with limited information, Twitter made a mistake,” he said.
Roth said that it was the company’s policy on hacked and leaked information that caused them to prevent the posting of links to the story, even from outlets like the New York Post. And he admitted that it was ultimately a mistake by the company, but making decisions about suspected cyberattacks that might affect an election is not easy.
Rep. Jim Jordan grilled the former FBI official and former Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker on whether he discussed the Hunter Biden Laptop story with the FBI.
Baker denied any recollection of speaking to the FBI about the Hunter Biden laptop story in a testy exchange with Jordan.
“I don’t recall speaking to the FBI. Sitting here today, I don’t recall speaking to the FBI at all about the Hunter Biden matter,” Baker said.
James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee said that social media sites are hampering speech and discourse. He said that many social media platforms are under the control of people who are hostile to the “fundamental American values of free speech and expression.”
Watch:
Rep. @Jim_Jordan grills former FBI official and Former Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker on whether he discussed the Hunter Biden Laptop story with the FBI pic.twitter.com/F7bVwYCWHh
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) February 8, 2023
