US government officials and media outlets promoted conspiracies about Russian bot activity on Twitter despite pushback and evidence to the contrary from the social media company, reporter Matt Taibbi said on Thursday in the latest release of the so-called Twitter Files.
In January 2018, Twitter users began posting the hashtag "ReleaseTheMemo" in support of the declassification of a memorandum by then-Congressman Devin Nunes, which detailed flaws in the FBI’s investigation of alleged collusion between former President Donald Trump and Russia.
In response, Democrats denounced the memorandum, claiming it was boosted by Russian "bots" and not an organic social media movement, even after Twitter informed the lawmakers that they found no signs that the movement was affiliated with Russia.
"Twitter warned politicians and media they not only lacked evidence, but had evidence the accounts weren’t Russian – and were roundly ignored," Taibbi said. "Execs eventually grew frustrated over what they saw as a circular process – presented with claims of Russian activity, even when denied, led to more claims."
Nevertheless, Twitter went on to follow a pattern of not challenging the claims regarding Russia on the record, Taibbi said. Consequently, a number of US media outlets continued to push the Russian bots narrative despite a lack of evidence, Taibbi added.
The lawmakers contributed to one of the "greatest outbreaks of mass delusion in US history" by spreading the Russian collusion hoax and attempting to discredit Nunes’ memorandum, the congressman said in a statement. The contents of Nunes’ memorandum were verified in a December 2019 report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. The Twitter Files are based on internal information and released in coordination with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who committed to reforming the social media company after acquiring it last year.
House Oversight’s New GOP Chair Asks Treasury, Twitter for Files on Hunter Biden Business Deals
The promised Republican investigation of Hunter Biden, the businessman son of US President Joe Biden, has taken an early step on Wednesday, as House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) sent out his first requests for files on Hunter Biden’s business dealings from the US Treasury and from social media giant Twitter.
Comer sent letters to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and to several prominent Twitter figures, including former Twitter deputy general counsel James Baker; Twitter’s former global head of trust and safety Yoel Roth; and Twitter’s former chief legal officer, Vijaya Gadde.
According to reports in US media, Comer is specifically looking into Twitter’s decision in the fall of 2020 to block users from sharing certain articles about Hunter Biden’s business dealings that stemmed from the so-called “laptop from Hell” that the businessman had seemingly abandoned at a Delaware repair shop.
After Elon Musk took over Twitter in October 2021, he gave several journalists access to detailed reports and communications concerning the effort, revealing close coordination between Democrats, the Democrat-controlled Executive Branch, and Twitter’s internal policymakers.
“For years, the Biden family peddled influence and access around the world for profit, often at the expense of our nation's interests. The American people must know the extent of Joe Biden's involvement in his family's shady business deals and if these deals threaten national security and his decision-making as president,” Comer told reporters on Wednesday.
Republicans have fumed for years over the seemingly endless stream of dirt on Hunter Biden, including attempts by then-US President Donald Trump to pressure the Ukrainian government to reopen a 2015 probe into Burisma, a gas company doing business in Ukraine on the board of which Hunter Biden sat. Trump failed in that endeavor, and Democrats impeached him on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, of which he was easily acquitted in a 2020 Senate trial.
Democrats have dismissed the claims as nonsensical and the news about Hunter Biden as salacious and mischaracterized.
In his letter to Yellen, Comer said the Oversight Committee was “investigating President Biden’s knowledge of and role in these schemes to assess whether he has compromised our national security at the expense of the American people. Additionally, we will examine drafting legislation to strengthen federal ethics laws regarding employees and their families. We will also examine and make recommendations regarding federal laws and regulations to ensure that financial institutions have the proper internal controls and compliance programs to alert federal agencies of potential money laundering activity.”
Comer’s request is a follow-up to his attempt last year to obtain the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) by US banks associated with Hunter Biden as well as other associates of the Biden family, including the president’s brother, James Biden. The Treasury refused to give Comer the documents, saying it would only respond to a request by a committee chair - a position to which Comer rose after Republicans emerged triumphant in the House in the November 2022 elections.
The probe is just one of several promised by Republicans if they retook either chamber of Congress in the November 2022 elections. While their anticipated “red wave” of sweeping victories failed to materialize, they did gain a slim majority in the US House of Representatives - enough to win a Republican House Speaker and set their agenda in motion in the various committees
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