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“My Jaw Hit The Floor” – Musk Fires Twitter’s ‘FBI-Russiagate’ Lawyer Over Vetting Debacle

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3 months ago

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

Elon Musk on Tuesday announced that former FBI attorney James Baker, who came to Twitter to serve as deputy general counsel, has been fired after ‘vetting’ recently released evidence of Twitter’s election interference unbeknownst to Musk.

“In light of concerns about Baker’s possible role in suppression of information important to the public dialogue, he was exited from Twitter today,” Musk wrote on Twitter, replying to a Dec. 4 Jonathan Turley article shedding light on the incestuous relationship between Twitter, Biden scandals, and Baker.

Journalist Matt Taibbi, who dropped ‘The Twitter Files‘ last Friday detailing how Twitter executives went behind CEO Jack Dorsey’s back to interfere in the 2020 US election by censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story.

According to Taibbi, Baker was involved in ‘vetting’ information without the knowledge of management.

More:

We can now tell you part of the reason why. On Tuesday, Twitter Deputy General Counsel (and former FBI General Counsel) Jim Baker was fired. Among the reasons? Vetting the first batch of “Twitter Files” – without knowledge of new management.

The process for producing the “Twitter Files” involved delivery to two journalists (Bari Weiss and me) via a lawyer close to new management. However, after the initial batch, things became complicated.

Over the weekend, while we both dealt with obstacles to new searches, it was @BariWeiss who discovered that the person in charge of releasing the files was someone named Jim. When she called to ask “Jim’s” last name, the answer came back: “Jim Baker.” “My jaw hit the floor,” says Weiss.

The news that Baker was reviewing the “Twitter files” surprised everyone involved, to say the least. New Twitter chief Elon Musk acted quickly to “exit” Baker Tuesday.”Reporters resumed searches through Twitter Files material – a lot of it – today. The next installment of “The Twitter Files” will appear @bariweiss. Stay tuned.

 When asked if Baker was asked to explain himself, Musk replied: “Yes. His explanation was …unconvincing.“

Musk has known for a while that Baker was a bad actor, as we presume was looking for the right moment to cut him loose.

Read more about Baker in Jonathan Turley‘s article noted by Taibbi;

As thousands of Twitter documents are released on the company’s infamous censorship program, much has been confirmed about the use of back channels by Biden and Democratic officials to silence critics on the social media platform. However, one familiar name immediately popped out in the first batch of documents released through journalist Matt Taibbi: James Baker. For many, James Baker is fast becoming the Kevin Bacon of the Russian collusion scandals.

Baker has been featured repeatedly in the Russian investigations launched by the Justice Department, including the hoax involving the Russian Alfa Bank. When Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann wanted to plant the bizarre false claim of a secret communications channel between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, Baker was his go-to, speed-dial contact. (Baker would later testify at Sussmann’s trial). Baker’s name also appeared prominently in controversies related to the other Russian-related FBI allegations against Trump. He was effectively forced out due to his role and reportedly found himself under criminal investigation. He became a defender of the Russian investigations despite findings of biased and even criminal conduct. He was also a frequent target of Donald Trump on social media, including Twitter. Baker responded with public criticism of Trump for his “false narratives.”

After leaving the FBI, Twitter seemed eager to hire Baker as deputy general counsel. Ironically, Baker soon became involved in another alleged back channel with a presidential campaign. This time it was Twitter that maintained the non-public channels with the Biden campaign (and later the White House). Baker soon weighed in with the same signature bias that characterized the Russian investigations.

Weeks before the 2020 presidential election, the New York Post ran an explosive story about a laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden that contained emails and records detailing a multimillion dollar influence peddling operation by the Biden family. Not only was Joe Biden’s son Hunter and brother James involved in deals with an array of dubious foreign figures, but Joe Biden was referenced as the possible recipient of funds from these deals.

The Bidens had long been accused of influence peddling, nepotism, and other forms of corruption. Moreover, the campaign was not denying that the laptop was Hunter Biden’s and key emails could be confirmed from the other parties involved. However, at the request of the “Biden team” and Democratic operatives, Twitter moved to block the story. It even suspended those who tried to share the allegations with others, including the White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who was suspended for linking to the scandal.

Even inside Twitter, the move raised serious concerns over the company serving as a censor for the Biden campaign. Global Comms Brandon Borrman who asked if  the company could “truthfully claim that this is part of the policy” for barring posts and suspending users.

Baker quickly jumped in to support the censorship and said that “it’s reasonable for us to assume that they may have been [hacked] and that caution is warranted.”

Keep in mind that there was never any evidence that this material was hacked. Moreover, there was no evidence of Russian involvement in the laptop. Indeed, U.S. intelligence quickly rejected the Russian disinformation claim.

However, Baker insisted that there was a “reasonable” assumption that Russians were behind another major scandal. Faced with a major scandal implicating a Joe Biden in the corrupt selling of access to foreign figures (including some with foreign intelligence associations), Baker’s natural default was to kill the story and stop others from sharing the allegations.

The released documents may show why Twitter was so eager to hire Baker despite his role in the Russian collusion controversies. What likely would have been a liability for most companies seemed an actual draw for Twitter. For censors and political operatives in Twitter, Baker likely seemed like a “made man” for a company committed to systemic censorship. He would be working with the chief legal officer at the company, Vijaya Gadde, who functioned as the company’s chief censor.  Gadde was widely reviled by free speech advocates for her dismissal of free speech principles and open political bias.

Not unexpectedly, Gadde and Baker would play prominent roles in the suppression of the Hunter Biden scandal. There was hardly a need to round up “the usual suspects” in the suppression scandal when Musk took over the company. Both lawyers swatted down internal misgivings to bury a story that could well have made the difference in the close 2020 election.

It is striking how many of the figures and institutions involved in Russian collusion claims are within six degrees of James Baker. Not only did Baker work closely with fired FBI director James Comey and other key figures at the Justice Department, but he was an acquaintance of key Clinton figures like Sussmann who pushed the false collusion allegations. He was also hired by Brookings Institution, which also has a curious Bacon-like role in the origins and development of the false Russian collusion allegations.

None of these means that Baker was the driving force of the scandals. To the contrary, Baker earned his bones in Washington as a facilitator, a reliable ally when it came to the business of the Beltway. It is hardly a surprise that Baker found a home at Twitter where “caution” was always “warranted” in dealing with potentially damaging stories for Democratic interests.

This post was originally published at Zero Hedge

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Democrats Refuse To Address The Contents Of The Twitter Files – Attack The Messengers Instead

Published

1 week ago

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12 March, 2023

Zero Hedge

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

There are some that say not much was learned or gained from the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government this past week as politicians sparred over the meaning of the release of the Twitter Files.  Democrats in particular seemed adamant that they would not discuss the actual contents of the files or their implications.  Their apparent goal?  To disrupt exploration of the information and to attack the messengers.

There might not have been many new revelations coming from the subcommittee, but what the public did learn was that the political left is extremely hostile to facts, evidence and the truth.  If you didn’t already know that by now, the hearing with Matt Taibbi made it abundantly clear.  

Leftist members of the committee proceeded into a tirade when Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger were called to testify on their participation in the publishing of the files, attacking everything from their credentials to their intentions, and even demanding they reveal information on their private sources.  Here is the real information the Dems did not want to talk about:

It is well known that Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger and Elon Musk have long been liberal leaning in their politics, yet the accusations from Democrats asserted some form of conspiracy between Musk, Taibbi and Republicans, with some members even insinuating an effort to “undermine democracy.”  What right did they have to take this position?

They claim that Musk and Taibbi are hiding data that shows Trump and Republicans were making requests to censor Twitter users as well.  In other words, they assert there is a “conspiracy” to protect Republicans while denouncing Democrats.

But what are the facts here?

Taibbi has said on numerous occasions that there were requests from Republicans as well as Democrat officials for accounts to be censored or blocked.  He never hid this from anyone.  This argument is a cover, a distraction from two separate issues:

First, the government should NEVER be involved in censorship requests of the public for any reason.  It doesn’t matter which party is making the requests, and a criminal investigation should be pursued for any officials involved in legitimate 1st Amendment violations.  

Second, who did Twitter actually censor?  Which requests did they actually honor?  The vast majority of accounts censored by the previous Twitter management were conservative accounts, conservative news sources and posts with content that ran contrary to Democrat narratives.  Republicans like Trump might have made requests, but how many people were blocked on Twitter in response?

Democrats complain about the Twitter Files being weighted in favor of the political right wing, but maybe that is because most of the requests for censorship came from the DNC and Biden controlled agencies, and most of the people censored were conservatives.  It’s weighted against Democrats because they more commonly use censorship as a weapon.

A stunning 99% of online political contributions made by Twitter employees in 2021 went to Democrats, according to Federal Election Commission data.  Are we really supposed to believe that Twitter has been acting for the benefit of both parties, or just one?  

The M.O. of the political left for the past several years now has been cancel culture attacks to silence their opponents and shut down dissent.  Major social media companies are by far more progressive in their affiliations than conservative, and have been a key tool for leftists in targeting and removing contrary speech.  No one on the left talks about being shut down by conservatives, it is always the reverse.  

The social dynamic in the US has been completely out of balance for many years, with corporations and government agencies widely backing the most extreme segments of the far-left.  This is where they get their power.  They certainly don’t get power from being the majority, woke activists are a tiny portion of the overall population and one that is widely despised.  They have been feared in the past only because corporations and the government back them.  The Twitter Files prove this collusion in detail.  

Even moderate liberals like Musk or Taibbi are being run through the gauntlet of character assassination these days because they dared to oppose certain aspects of the far-left agenda.  But the bottom line is this – Only the political left and some Neo-Cons within the GOP have displayed open disdain for the dissemination of the truth.  We saw this with the Biden Laptop story.  We saw this with covid facts that were inconvenient to the establishment narrative.  And, we saw this recently with Tucker Carlson’s release of suppressed J6 footage.  

The average conservative and liberty minded independent sees sunlight as the best disinfectant, while establishment elitists and woke activists view open discussion and debate of information as a “dangerous” frivolity.  We believe that the truth is arrived at through discourse.  They believe that the truth is what they say it is.

The Twitter Files have torn open the veil obscuring big government and big tech collusion and this makes certain people very nervous and very angry.  Take note of who those people are.  Who is enraged?  Who is hostile to the exposure of government censorship?  Those are the real villains that need to face scrutiny, not the messengers passing the information along.  

This post was originally published at Zero Hedge

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Video: Twitter Files Journalist Michael Shellenberger Warns Of ‘Censorship-Industrial Complex’

“The rise of a for-profit censorship industry funded by American taxpayers to censor real-world information”

Published

1 week ago

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10 March, 2023

Steve Watson

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Journalist Michael Shellenberger, who testified Thursday before the House regarding his involvement with the Twitter Files, has warned of a “very disturbing” movement toward a “Censorship-industrial complex” being implemented by the government.

Speaking about his testimony and attempts by Democrats to get him to reveal his journalistic sources, as well as just having plain insults thrown at him and being called a threat to Democracy, Shellenberger told Tucker Carlson that the hearing “was a very disturbing event.”

Dems Blast “Threat” Of “So-Called Journalists” As Taibbi, Shellenberger Expose “State-Sponsored Thought-Policing”

“They then proceeded to demand to know who our sources were, which of course, we were unwilling to share with them,” Shellenberger continued, adding “We were revealing here this is way beyond woke censorship within Twitter,”

The journalist urged that “we have now discovered a censorship-industrial complex that includes government-funded entities that are doing state-sponsored censorship.”

“They are now seeking widespread use of artificial intelligence to censor accurate information,” Shellenberger continued, adding “We’ve now seen Facebook and Twitter caught censoring accurate information about coronavirus vaccinations because they were worried that it would lead to vaccine hesitancy.”

“The story has really evolved, and there is much more to say on it we are still discovering quite a bit of information, but what you’re basically seeing here is the rise of a for-profit censorship industry funded by American taxpayers to censor real-world information,” Shellenberger asserted.

Watch:

Here are the clips of the Democrats asking both Shellenberger and Matt Taibbi to expose their sources:

All of this is happening under the context of the Biden Federal Trade Commission going directly after the journalists and Elon Musk for daring to expose the censorship activities of the deep state.

Elon Musk Accuses Biden Of “Weaponization Of A Government Agency” Against Him Over Twitter Files

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    Video: Tucker Carlson Slams McConnell And Schumer For Trying To Kill His J6 Broadcasts

    “They’re all on the same side!”

    Published

    2 weeks ago

    on

    9 March, 2023

    Steve Watson

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    As questions swirl over whether Tucker Carlson’s ongoing investigation into the January 6th footage is being shut down by higher ups, Carlson himself tore into Democrat and Republican leaders who both called for the host to be censored.

    “What you’re seeing is hysteria. The overstatements, the crazed hyperbole, the red-in-the face anger. It’s not outrage, it’s fear,” Carlson told viewers.

    “We’re getting close to what they really care about,” He continued, further noting “Here you have people with shared interests. The open borders people. The people like Mitch McConnell who are living in splendor on Chinese money.”

    Carlson also mocked Chuck Schumer for melting down on the Senate floor and calling Carlson a “threat to Democracy.”

    “They’re all on the same side!” Carlson declared.

    Watch:

    Carlson scored monster ratings on Tuesday night as he aired footage that revealed evidence that had been withheld by the J6 Committee and tells a different narrative of the events to the one presented to the American people.

    President Trump responded to Carlson’s reporting, calling for those who withheld the evidence to be tried for Treason:

    GREAT JOB BY TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT. The Unselect Committee of political Hacks & Thugs has been totally discredited. They knowingly refused to show the Videos that mattered. They should be tried for Fraud and Treason, and those imprisoned and being persecuted should be exonerated and released, NOW!

    Carlson also presented a montage of corporate media mouthpieces panicking and calling for him to be censored:

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