A watchdog committee threw three former Twitter executives on the witness stand and grilled them like steaks. The House Oversight Committee held a hearing which Washington Post grudgingly admits “represents a moment of political reckoning more than two years in the making.”
Twitter execs questioned
Members of Congress on the House Oversight Committee “invited” three key players behind the Twitter censorship scandal to come in for a little chat. Conservative lawmakers are demanding answers about Twitter’s “2020 decision to block users from sharing a controversial New York Post story.”
Not just any story, the one about Hunter Biden’s laptop and the scandalous evidence of Biden family influence peddling that’s oozing out of it. Washington Post thinks that since “the company’s leaders have long since agreed it was a mistake,” that makes it alright.
The liberal outlet couldn’t resist pointing out that Georgia Lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene is on the committee. She personally “had her own account permanently suspended by Twitter before Musk reinstated it in November.” She cornered Yoel Roth with a pointed question. “Who made you in charge of what’s true and what’s false?”
"Did either of you approve the shadowbanning of my account, @ LaurenBoebert?"
— Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) uses her time at today's House Oversight Committee hearing to talk about her personal Twitter metrics pic.twitter.com/gVvbiTA2nx
— The Recount (@therecount) February 8, 2023
Democrats on the panel did as much damage control as they could manage. The Post made sure to showcase their opinions. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, that doesn’t mean they’re right.
To Texas Democrat Greg Casar, the hearing is nothing but a waste of time. “It seems to me that we’re having these hearings so that people can beat their chests about Hunter Biden, maybe do some fundraising, get some headlines and ironically post those on Twitter.”
The weaponization of the Justice Department against a political opponent isn’t something Democrats like Casar want to think about. It hurts their brains. Republicans were all there to talk about how the platform kept “unfairly removing conservative content.”
BREAKING: Power goes out as House Oversight Committee holds hearing on Twitter censoring Hunter Biden laptop article published by @nypost before the 2020 elections but branded fake news by @nytimes @washingtonpost @CNN and others. Members are now using window light! Your reaction pic.twitter.com/APF4y9CT0h
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) February 8, 2023
Disrupted by power failure
There was a big delay in the proceedings when the lights went out in the courtroom. Nobody is reporting any transformers shot up or anything, so it wasn’t domestic terror or burglary. Nobody is talking about why power was cut but the timing was suspiciously convenient for Twitter.
When Chairman James Comer graveled them back into session just past 2 p.m. he announced, “I apologize. We’ve never had this happen. The electricity went out.”
One exchange, between Conservative Byron Donalds and former trust and safety head at Twitter Yoel Roth, revealed the intricate structure used to compartmentalize things for the appearance of propriety.
Twitter in spotlight during House Oversight Committee Hearing 2/8/2023
"Photos and Text Messages of HUNTER BIDEN committing multiple FELONIES"
-Rep. William Timmons, (R) SC
MAGA GOP, #KevinMcCarthy, Yoel Roth, Hunter Biden Laptop, #1A, Gadde, James Baker, MTG pic.twitter.com/bsHGpXOYrB
— Jesse Watters Hair (@JesseWattersFur) February 8, 2023
According to Roth, “the teams responsible for enforcing its rules on what users can say were not the same ones responsible for government relations.” That doesn’t mean that the left hand didn’t know exactly what the right hand was wrapped around.
No matter how much damning testimony was revealed, which Republicans will capitalize on through other ongoing investigations, Democrats will never see where anybody at Twitter did anything wrong. The way the Post wants their readers to see Wednesday’s hearing, it’s no big deal.
“Despite repeated allegations from Republicans, the hearing has raised no evidence of collusion or pressure from the U.S. government.” The scary point is that time and again they keep ending up on the winning side of these crucial issues. That’s what happens when the rats are in charge of the cheese.