OPINION:
Gadgets that are broken need to be taken apart and fixed or tossed and replaced. It also applies to agencies of government. Cloak-and-dagger scheming normally directed against the nation’s enemies has been turned against its citizens by the U.S. intelligence community. That’s unacceptable. Toying with the First Amendment — the cornerstone of the Constitution — must carry consequences.
“Twittergate” is baring the extent of the dysfunction that undermines Americans’ cherished freedom to speak without fear of government retribution. With a series of exposes published over the past month, Twitter owner Elon Musk has turned a spotlight on embarrassing communication threads between the social media firm’s content guardians and government officials — including FBI brass — who sought to suppress the posting of views that clash with the political objectives of the dominant Democratic Party.
The public has seen enough to demand a thorough examination of the FBI’s shady practices. A Rasmussen survey in late December found that 63% of likely U.S. voters “believe Congress should investigate whether the FBI was involved in censoring information on social media sites.” Another 22% opposed an investigation, and 15% were undecided.
A Twitter file published on Jan. 3 by journalist Matt Taibbi bolsters the notion that the FBI has lost its aim. Summarizing his research into the firm’s message history, Mr. Taibbi writes, “Twitter tried to resist fulfilling moderation requests for the State Department, but ultimately agreed to let State and other agencies send requests through the FBI, which agent Chan calls ‘the belly button of the USG,’” referencing an involved FBI agent’s description of the bureau as the central conduit for U.S. government censorship appeals.
Among federal entities promoting speech suppression were the departments of Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, Mr. Taibbi writes. Also joining the campaign to silence inconvenient speech were politicians, including Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
If it seems Mr. Musk is unfairly targeting the U.S. intelligence community for embarrassment, it should not be forgotten that “Twittergate” is just the latest in a series of damning revelations of dirty Washington tricks meant to rob voters of their constitutional right to self-government. It was not long ago that top officials at the FBI and other associated agencies were involved in the Trump-Russia collusion hoax and the Trump-Ukraine impeachment, which were attempts to expel then-President Donald Trump from the White House, and the Trump insurrection impeachment and Mar-a-Lago raid, which were part of an ongoing effort to prevent him from running again.
Moreover, the Twitter revelations demonstrate how former FBI general counsel James Baker abused his subsequent role as a senior attorney for the social media firm to vet the Twitter File documents. Fortunately, he was fired for his interference with Mr. Musk’s efforts to expose the shadowy attacks on free speech.
Americans cannot now unsee the means by which Democrat-controlled FBI infiltrated Twitter in order to censor and propagandize the public for its own political ends. The new Republic majority in the House must take on the task of ending the un-American partisanship within the intelligence community. Failure would mean the problem is unfixable.
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