Elon Musk has fired Twitter’s deputy general counsel, James Baker, over his alleged deletion of internal documents about blocking the briefing on the Post’s Hunter Biden laptop.
“In light of concerns about Baker’s possible role in suppressing information important to public dialogue, he was removed from Twitter today,” Musk said. tweeted Tuesday.
Musk added that he questioned Baker before his dismissal about the events surrounding the laptop removal scandal and that the lawyer’s explanation was “not convincing”.
Baker, a former FBI attorney, was discovered secretly checking internal Twitter documents before they could be reviewed by reporters, delaying the release of more documents related to Twitter’s censorship scandal. the company.
“On Friday, the first episode of Twitter Files was posted here. We expected to post more over the weekend. Many wondered why there was a delay,” said freelance journalist Matt Taibbi. tweeted tuesday.
“We can now tell you part of the reason. On Tuesday, Twitter Assistant General Counsel (and former FBI General Counsel) Jim Baker was fired. Among the reasons? Verification of the first batch of “Twitter Files” – without knowledge of the new direction,” Taibbi added.
Taibbi further revealed that former Wall Street Journal and New York Times writer Bari Weiss was also involved in reviewing the social media giant’s internal documents related to the Post’s Hunter Biden story and that she was the one who found out about Baker’s involvement, which Musk was unaware of. according to Taibbi.
“The production process for the Twitter Files involved delivery to two journalists (Bari Weiss and me) via a lawyer close to the new management. However, after the initial batch, things got complicated,” Taibbi said.
He added that Weiss had discovered “that the person responsible for posting the files was someone named Jim.
“When she called asking for ‘Jim’s last name, the answer came back: ‘Jim Baker’.”
Taibbi added in a tweet: “‘My jaw hit the ground,’ Weiss said.”
He said the first batch of files received by the two reporters were labeled “Spectra Baker Emails.”
Baker “is a controversial figure,” Taibbi wrote.
“He’s been kind of the Zelig of FBI controversies dating back to 2016, from the Steele dossier to the Alfa-Server mess. He resigned in 2018 after an investigation into press leaks.
“The news that Baker was reviewing the ‘Twitter Files’ surprised everyone involved, to say the least. New Twitter chief Elon Musk moved quickly to ‘quit’ Baker on Tuesday,” Taibbi tweeted.
Baker was previously the FBI’s general counsel under former director James Comey and a key figure in the bureau’s investigation into false allegations of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016.
While at the FBI, Baker worked with fiercely anti-Trump FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
After leaving office in 2018, Baker reportedly found himself under criminal investigation for allegedly leaking documents to reporters.
Baker maintained his conduct in the FBI and with respect to the Russia investigation.
This summer, Baker was also a star witness for special counsel John Durham in his case against former Hillary Clinton attorney Michael Sussmann, who was found not guilty in May of lying to the FBI.
Additionally, Baker has been linked to Mother Jones reporter David Corn, who announced the existence of the Steele Dossier, a document compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele loaded with unproven claims about Trump.
Baker reportedly contacted Corn in the weeks leading up to the November 2016 presidential election before Corn reported the document’s existence on October 31, 2016.
Twitter tapped Baker to help lead its legal team in June 2020, a month after the social media company sparked controversy for labeling two tweets from Trump claiming mail-in ballots would lead to a “rigged election” as promoting disinformation.
Catching up on Twitter’s censorship of the Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story
Baker’s ax by Musk comes after Taibbi revealed internal documents showing the attorney and other senior Twitter executives deliberating what to do about The Post’s October 2020 story on the Hunter Biden’s Abandoned Laptop and First Son’s Alleged Influence Peddling Schemes Revealed.
Twitter decided to block the story under its “pirated material” policy without any evidence of piracy.
The company even suspended the accounts of those who tried to share the allegations, including the account of former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, for linking to Post reporting on the scandal.
“Hacking was the excuse, but within hours pretty much everyone realized it wouldn’t work. But nobody had the courage to reverse it,” a former employee told Taibbi.
The “Twitter Files,” as Taibbi called the expose, showed that even inside Twitter, the decision to block the Post’s bomb story raised serious concerns about the company serving as a censor for the Biden campaign.
Taibbi’s reporting included an exchange between Baker and former Twitter VP Brandon Borrman about the decision to censor The Post’s reporting.
Borrman, referring to Twitter’s policy on “pirated materials,” asks Baker, “Can we honestly say that’s part of the policy? »
Baker responds that “caution is warranted”, suggesting that the Post story should be censored.
Taibbi said Tuesday that he and Weiss were back to review the records.
“The next episode of ‘The Twitter Files’ will appear @bariweiss. Stay tuned,” Taibbi concluded in the channel.
Musk, the world’s richest man, finalized a deal to buy Twitter last month and repeatedly insisted full disclosure was needed to determine why the company decided to block Post reporting. about President Biden’s son a few weeks before the 2020 election.
The 51-year-old billionaire has pledged to turn the social media platform into a bastion of free speech, and he has been teasing the release of the internal files for several days, insisting that “the public deserves to find out what really happened”.
