The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has finally responded to the “Twitter Files,” a collection of tweets that revealed the FBI and CIA’s connections to the social media company.
On Wednesday, the FBI lashed out at the journalists behind the Twitter thread, calling them “conspiracy theorists” for reporting on how the federal agency abused its power by paying Twitter to censor conservative users.
“The correspondence between the FBI and Twitter show nothing more than examples of our traditional, longstanding and ongoing federal government and private sector engagements, which involve numerous companies over multiple sectors and industries,” the FBI said in a statement.
“As evidenced in the correspondence, the FBI provides critical information to the private sector in an effort to allow them to protect themselves and their customers. The men and women of the FBI work every day to protect the American public. It is unfortunate that conspiracy theorists and others are feeding the American public misinformation with the sole purpose of attempting to discredit the agency,” the statement continued.
This comes after House Republicans announced the launch of an investigation into the “Twitter Files,” with incoming House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Mike Johnson spearheading the effort.
“We are investigating politicization and abuses at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as Big Tech’s censorship of conservatives online. Newly released information shows the FBI has coordinated extensively with Twitter to censor or otherwise affect content on Twitter’s platform. These documents show that the FBI maintained this relationship with Twitter apart from any particularized need for a specific investigation, but as a permanent and ongoing surveillance operation. These revelations sadly reinforce our deep concerns about the FBI’s misconduct and its hostility to the First Amendment,” the letter sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“From disclosed Twitter documents and publicly available information, it is clear the FBI worked extensively with Twitter to advance censorship of certain speech on Twitter’s platform. Twitter’s internal documents reflect a ‘cozy relationship’ between the FBI and Twitter,” the letter continued. “The FBI’s close coordination with Big Tech threatens Americans’ civil liberties.”
Jordan and Johnson have also requested that Wray submit certain documents for review by January 11, 2023. This includes the names, titles, and communications of all FBI and Twitter employees who have interacted with each other.
