Jordan: When Will the FBI Leave Elections Alone?
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is reacting to Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s firing of the social media company’s attorney, James Baker, who was a former FBI general counsel during the Russia collusion and suppression of the Hunter Biden story.
House GOP leaders signaled Wednesday that they may begin a lawsuit against former Twitter and FBI attorney James Baker over his involvement in suppressing 2020 media reports about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Republican leaders, who are expected to take over the leadership role when the GOP takes majority control of the House early next year, were asked by Fox News Digital about legal action or subpoenas. , suggested that all options are on the table. Latest news about Baker. Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced Tuesday that Baker had been “fired” from the company for suppressing information.
“Stay tuned,” a House Judiciary Committee GOP representative told Fox News Digital in an email when asked about possible legal action the committee could take.
Late last week, freelance journalist Matt Taibbi released internal Twitter files revealing the company’s communications after photos and messages were released on a laptop belonging to President Biden’s son Hunter Biden ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
ELON MUSK’S LAPTOP STORY SHUTS OFF LABOR LAWYER ON TWITTER FIRE
James Baker, former deputy general counsel of Twitter and former FBI general counsel
(Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images/File)
Baker, who was hired by Twitter in June 2020 as its deputy general counsel, said in an email that Twitter “needs more facts to assess whether something is going wrong” after the New York Post, published on October 14, 2020, highlighted the data from the laptop. he said. materials have been hacked,” and added that “it is reasonable and prudent for us to assume that they may have been.”
Twitter eventually suppressed the story and suspended the New York Post account for two weeks, prompting outrage from Republicans who thought the story might play a role in the election.
Before joining Twitter, Baker also served as FBI General Counsel and played a key role in the agency’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential election.
TWITTER CONSULTANT JAMES BAKER CHECKED ‘TWITTER FILES’ WITHOUT ELON MUSK’S KNOWLEDGE, MATT TAIBBY BENEFITED
“Twitter holds ex-FBI employees accountable for their actions. But the FBI does not,” Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a sitting member of the Judiciary Committee, tweeted Wednesday.
Twitter’s new CEO, Elon Musk, said on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, that Baker had “exited” the company.
(FOX)
Also on Tuesday, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., ranking member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, wrote a letter to Baker asking him to appear before the committee during the next Congressional session. The letter mentions Baker’s role in censoring the laptop story.
“The American people deserve to know why Twitter deleted the Hunter Biden laptop story, even as your colleagues question the logic of the suppression. [of] “Your testimony will provide critical context to the Committee regarding Twitter’s censorship team’s decision to ban users from sharing information about a presidential candidate,” Comer wrote in the letter.
TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN: ELON MUSK RELEASE EVIDENCE BIDEN ADMIN FORCED TWITTER TO CENSOR CONSERVATIVES
A spokeswoman for Comer said the first step was to ask Baker to testify before the committee, but the ranking member is prepared to take further action if Baker chooses not to cooperate.
“We expect him to cooperate with the Oversight Committee’s request to attend a public hearing,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The committee stands ready to use any means at its disposal to secure its cooperation in providing transparency to the American people.”
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., speaks at a news conference on Nov. 17, 2022.
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
On Tuesday, Comer sent similar letters to Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s former general counsel, and Yoel Roth, the company’s former global head of trust and security.
Comer and other Republican lawmakers have announced they will prioritize the investigation into Hunter Biden when they take control of the House in November.
According to the Congressional Research Service, under current House rules, the chairmen of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight Committee have the authority to authorize subpoenas and sign or issue subpoenas.
Baker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Alexander Hall contributed to this report.