White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said revelations about Twitter covering up the Hunter Biden laptop story were both a “distraction” and “old news.”
Her comments came during a White House media briefing Monday.
“My question was that you had said I think six or so days ago that the White House was closely watching the situation at Twitter after Elon Musk’s ownership of it with respect to misinformation. And because these files were released on the basis of, you know, hacked materials clause at Twitter, decisions were made to censor reporting leading to the election,” began a reporter.
“My question was, is it the White House view that these decisions were made appropriately in light of what has come out?” she asked.
“So look, we see this as an interesting, or a coincidence, if I may, that he would so haphazardly, that Twitter would so haphazardly push this distraction that is full of old news, if you think about it,” answered Jean-Pierre.
“And at the same time, Twitter is facing real and very serious questions about the rising volume of anger, hate, and anti-Semitism on that platform and how they’re letting it happen. And you know, the president said last week, more leaders need to speak out and reject this, and it’s very alarming and very dangerous,” continued Jean-Pierre.
“But our focus right now is helping the American family,” she said before discussing other Biden policies.
Jean-Pierre on @elonmusk releasing the TwitterFiles on Twitter's censorship:
"We see this as an interesting, or a coincidence, if I may, that Twitter would so haphazardly push this distraction that is full of old news." pic.twitter.com/oPd7w9jv2H
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) December 5, 2022
Twitter CEO Elon Musk drew national attention after he leaked numerous emails pertaining to the platform’s decision to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 election. Discovered revelations, posted in a report dubbed the “Twitter Files,” included evidence that the Biden campaign asked Twitter to look over posts and users who allegedly could have violated its terms of service.
Another part of the report showed emails drafted by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) requesting that Twitter stop its censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story as it is creating anger and goes against the First Amendment.
“I say this as a total Biden partisan and convinced he didn’t do anything wrong. But the story now has become more about censorship than relatively innocuous emails and it’s become a bigger deal than it would have been,” Khanna wrote.
“…in the heat of a Presidential campaign, restricting dissemination of newspaper articles (even if NY Post is far right) seems like it will invite more backlash than it will do good,” he added.
