Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia roasted three former Twitter executives Wednesday, saying they censored conservatives, allowed “child porn” on the platform and interfered in the 2020 and 2022 elections.
Greene made the remarks during a contentious House Oversight Committee hearing on “Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitter’s Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story.”
The purpose was to investigate the role former Twitter officials Yoel Roth, James Baker and Vijaya Gadde had in colluding with partisan FBI officials to censor Republican politicians, conservative activists and right-leaning media outlets to bury the Hunter Biden laptop story in order to help Joe Biden win the 2020 election.
Roth is Twitter’s former global head of trust and safety. Baker was deputy general counsel, while Gadde was the platform’s former chief legal officer.
Before the hearing, Greene tweeted, “I didn’t buy Twitter, but I’m about to own some former Twitter execs.”
I didn’t buy Twitter, but I’m about to own some former Twitter execs.
Tune in to @GOPoversight now.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) February 8, 2023
During the five minutes she was allotted to speak, Greene served up a heaping dish of schadenfreude to the trio she accused of abusing their authority to target conservatives and censor news from the public.
The conservative firebrand told the witnesses, “You can consider your speech canceled during my time because you canceled mine.”
Greene was referencing how Twitter had banned her account in January 2022 because she questioned the safety and efficacy of the coronavirus vaccines and spotlighted disturbing irregularities in the 2020 presidential election.
“You permanently banned my personal Twitter account, and it was my campaign account also. So let’s talk about election interference, shall we?” she began.
“Jan. 2, 2022, you permanently banned my Twitter account. This was the account that I would put my campaign ads on, raise money on, fight back when attacked with lies and be able to talk to my voters in my district. But you banned it.”
She continued: “My account was not reinstated until Nov. 21, 2022. That was after my election on Nov. 8.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG): “You permanently banned my personal Twitter account and it was my campaign account, too…You abused the power of a large corporation, big tech, to censor Americans…I’m so glad you’ve lost your jobs. Thank God @elonmusk bought Twitter.” pic.twitter.com/EoyjJb29Qe
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 8, 2023
Greene pointed out that before billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter in October 2022, more than 98 percent of its employees had donated to Democratic politicians.
“So while you coordinated with [the Department of Homeland Security], the FBI, the CIA, our government and outside groups to permanently ban, shadow ban, conservative Americans and candidates like me and the former president of the United States — President Donald J. Trump — you were censoring and wrongfully violating our First Amendment free speech rights,” she said.
“Guess what? None of you hold security clearances. None of you are elected. And none of you represent 750,000 people like I do,” the congresswoman underscored.
Greene then invoked a federal law — 52 U.S. Code 10101 on voting rights — which states that no person “shall intimidate, threaten, coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose.”
The congresswoman told the former Twitter officials, “You didn’t shadow ban or permanently ban my Democrat opponent. No, you did that to me. And that was wrong, and it was against the law.”
“You see, not only that, was it me, that you violated my First Amendment rights, you violated countless conservative Americans’,” she said. “These were doctors that were trying to tell the truth about COVID, doctors that were having success treating people with ivermectin, that you all would not allow to be talked about on your platform.
“These were parents complaining about their school boards teaching gender lies in their schools, biological males entering their daughters’ bathrooms and sports.”
Greene also noted how pre-Musk Twitter ruthlessly censored and banned users who questioned the alarming irregularities in the 2020 presidential election.
She contrasted how Twitter did nothing when Democrats repeatedly claimed that two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 election.
“These were also people questioning the 2020 election, and guess what? That’s Americans’ First Amendment right. These were people talking about voting machines,” Greene said. “You know what? Democrats did that in 2019 — before the 2020 election.
“On Twitter, people could question elections such as 2016, saying Hillary won, but in 2020, no one could question elections saying Trump won.
“You abused the power of a large corporation, Big Tech, to censor Americans.”
At that point, Greene made a pointed dig, saying how happy she was that the witnesses no longer work at Twitter.
“I’m so glad that you’re censored now and I’m so glad that you’ve lost your jobs,” she said. “Thank God Elon Musk bought Twitter.”
Greene then took aim at Roth, who moderated content on the platform.
She blamed him for lax oversight that enabled child pornography to flourish on Twitter.
The congresswoman also spotlighted past tweets and statements Roth had made suggesting he condones underage sex and youth homosexuality.
This tweet just clarified why the term “groomer” was considered “hate speech” on Twitter…
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) December 10, 2022
“It’s amazing to me, Mr. Roth, as the head of trust and safety at Twitter, your ability — or should I say, inability — to remove child porn,” she said.
“Twitter will live to porn another day!” —Thing I just yelled loudly at work
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) December 1, 2015
Greene said: “Here’s something that disgusts me about you: In your doctoral dissertation entitled ‘Gay Data,’ you argued that minors should have access to Grindr, an adult, gay, male hookup app. Minors? Really?”
Disgraced former head of Twitter Trust & Safety @yoyoel appeared to have argued for adult gay hookup apps to be able to extend services to minors. #TwitterFiles also revealed the extent to which his left-wing political bias guided his censorship decisions. https://t.co/xdL0gLLUox
— Andy Ngô ?️? (@MrAndyNgo) December 11, 2022
Greene noted that after Musk acquired Twitter, the platform banned more than 44,000 accounts that promoted child porn and contrasted that with how Roth allowed child porn to flourish while targeting conservatives.
.@RepMTG Calls Out The Former Head Of Trust And Safety At Twitter Yoel Roth For Not Removing Child Porn On Twitter And For Arguing That Minors Should Have Access To Grindr
“That is repulsive.” pic.twitter.com/qKkY4nI1Id
— The Columbia Bugle ?? (@ColumbiaBugle) February 8, 2023
When her allotted five minutes ended, Greene was informed by the committee chairman that her time had expired. She then said to the former Twitter executives, “And your time has expired.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
