House Republicans are continuing to investigate Twitter and former FBI attorney James Baker over the social media giant’s role in suppressing The Post’s story about firstborn Hunter Biden — with the possibility of legal action looming.
“Keep us posted,” a Republican House Judiciary Committee spokesman said in an email. Fox News Digital when asked what action the panel might take against Baker.
Republicans on the Judiciary and Oversight Committee are preparing to investigate President Biden’s son’s involvement in business deals in Ukraine and China, which The Post reported in October 2020.
Representative James Comer sent letters to (R-Ky.) Baker, who is expected to chair the Oversight Committee starting in January; Vivaya Gadde, former head of legal affairs at Twitter; and Joel Roth, former head of the company’s trust and security division; asking them to appear before the jury voluntarily.
Baker was canned when it was revealed this week that the FBI’s general counsel, known as the “Twitter Files,” was secretly examining the company’s internal documents before they were examined by reporters selected by CEO Elon Musk, prompting a delay in releasing those materials. .
Rep. Jim Jordan is among Republicans investigating Hunter Biden after The Post reported on him in October 2020.
Musk confirmed in a tweet on Tuesday that Baker had been “exited” from the company. .
“Twitter CEO Elon Musk recently claimed that Twitter ‘meddled in the election.’ The American people deserve to know why Twitter deleted the Hunter Biden laptop story, even as your colleagues question the wisdom of suppressing the story,” Comer wrote in a letter to Baker.
“Your testimony will provide the Committee with critical context regarding Twitter’s censorship team’s decision to ban users from sharing information about a presidential candidate,” he continued.
Similar letters were sent to Roth and Gadde. .
A spokeswoman for Comer told Fox News that the congressman intends to have Baker testify voluntarily or under subpoena.
“We expect him to cooperate with the Oversight Committee’s request to attend a public hearing,” the spokesman said. “The committee stands ready to use any means at its disposal to secure its cooperation in providing transparency to the American people.”
Controversy over Twitter’s blocking of The Post’s story about Hunter Biden’s laptop erupted last week when Musk released a report through reporter Matt Taibbi about internal discussions surrounding the decision.
It turns out that a small group of top executives determined The Post’s report violated the company’s “degraded material” policy and kept their decision secret from then-CEO Jack Dorsey.
But the decision was questioned by a number of Twitter insiders and sparked heated debate.
Taibbi’s report noted that Twitter sources recalled a “general” warning from federal law enforcement agencies about the possibility of a hacking attack by foreign agents in the summer of 2020, but found no evidence of government involvement in Hunter Biden’s laptop.
During the debate, Baker said it was “reasonable” and “caution should be exercised” to assume that the materials had been tampered with.
Twitter then “took extraordinary steps to suppress” The Post’s report, according to Taibbi’s report.
Before being hired by Twitter in June 2020, Baker was the FBI’s general counsel under former Director James Comey and played a key role in the 2016 investigation into allegations of collusion between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign officials and Russia. .
“Twitter Holds Ex-FBI Officials Accountable for Their Actions” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who is expected to lead the House Judiciary Committee, posted a message on his Twitter account Wednesday. “But the FBI doesn’t do that.”
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