(LibertyInsider.org) – The House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government had another hearing nearly one year after the Twitter Files first broke. The group heard testimony from multiple witnesses, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan took the opportunity to issue some new subpoenas. One went to the 2020 pandemic coordinator for the White House, Andy Slavitt, and another went to Rob Flaherty, who previously served as White House director of digital strategy under President Joe Biden.
The New York Post writes that Jordan’s subpoenas were over actions the officials allegedly took to censor online content and stifle American voices. The committee has a particular interest in Flaherty, who supposedly played a “central role” in a major social media censorship scheme. In a letter attached to his subpoena, Jordan claims the former digital strategy director and other White House officials abused their power by pressuring social media companies to stifle “disfavored viewpoints.” Flaherty ignored multiple requests to appear before the committee voluntarily before the House committee chairman resorted to the official order.
Jordan publicized the hearing on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, calling the event “YouTube Files.” He referenced the “Twitter Files,” originally posted on the site on December 2, 2022, which accused the Biden administration of pressuring Twitter into deleting certain types of content. The representative stated that much of the latest effort — which allegedly involved numerous platforms, including YouTube and Google — was to knock out “misinformation” related to the 2020 pandemic.
The committee also heard testimony from four witnesses during the November 30 hearing: Twitter Files journalists Matt Tiabi and Michael Shellenberger; Canadian journalist Rupa Subramanya; and former Homeland Security Advisor Olivia Troye, who served as counterterrorism advisor under former Vice President Mike Pence. Tiabi and Shellenberger both shared their views based on the findings that spurred them to write the “Twitter Files,” while Subramanya attested that the abuse appeared to be just as prominent across Canadian social media sites. Troye, in contrast, called the hearing “political theater.”
Slavitt is scheduled to testify on January 9. Flaherty will answer to the committee on January 11.
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