Actor James Woods said he plans to sue the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after Elon Musk shared explosive “Twitter Files” disclosures appearing to show that the DNC asked Twitter to censor Woods’s tweet about Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son.
Musk and independent journalist Matt Taibbi on Friday unveiled a series of internal Twitter communications that give insight into steps taken by staff at the social media platform around suppressing the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story.
In one of his posts, Taibbi shared a screengrab of an internal Twitter email dated Oct. 24, 2020, which appears to show a Twitter staffer sharing a list of five tweets allegedly identified by people from the campaign of then-candidate Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Taibbi wrote in a comment: “By 2020, requests from connected actors to delete tweets were routine. One executive would write to another: ‘More to review from the Biden team.’ The reply would come back: ‘Handled.’”
Another one of the disclosures shared by Taibbi shows a screengrab of an email from one Twitter employee to another, dated Oct. 25, 2020, indicating that the DNC had flagged two embarrassing tweets, reportedly involving Hunter Biden, for censorship.
“Celebrities and unknowns alike could be removed or reviewed at the behest of a political party,” Taibbi wrote as a comment.
The screenshot of the email exchange showed one Twitter staffer saying they had “grabbed the first one under SI,” referring to a tweet from the account @stephen_liuhan, which is suspended.
That staff member then told their colleague “defer to Safety on the high profile second one,” referring to a tweet that came from James Woods’s account. Both tweets seem to have been deleted.
Washington Free Beacon investigative reporter Andrew Kerr replied to Taibbi’s tweet, writing, “The Stephen_liuhuan tweet was a link to Hunter Biden weighing and using drugs, and another link to a Hunter Biden sex tape. The James Wood tweet is Hunter Biden smoking crack and getting a foot job.”
The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify the contents of the two deleted tweets.
‘The Whole Thing’s Astonishing’
Woods spoke to Tucker Carlson in an interview Friday to discuss the matter of his censored tweet.
“Did you suspect at the time it was pulled down at the direct request of the Democratic National Committee?” Carlson asked the actor.
“I’m shocked the way any other American would be if he were a target of a presidential candidate and major political party,” Woods replied. “I think the whole thing’s astonishing.”
Carlson asked Woods whether he plans to do anything about it.
“I can guarantee you one thing more than anything else you’ll ever hear in your life: I will be getting a lawyer. I will be suing the Democratic National Committee no matter what, whether I win or lose,” Woods replied.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the DNC for comment.
Musk reacted to one of Taibbi’s posts that said “requests from connected actors to delete tweets were routine” under Twitter’s prior management by posing the question: “If this isn’t a violation of the Constitution’s First Amendment, what is?”
The Twitter account @hodgetwins, run by a pair of conservative comedians, reacted to Musk’s tweet: “It 100 percent is, collusion between govt. and big tech to violate the First Amendment.”
Replying to that tweet, Musk suggested that Twitter was acting under government orders to suppress free speech.
“Twitter acting by itself to suppress free speech is not a 1st amendment violation, but acting under orders from the government to suppress free speech, with no judicial review, is,” Musk wrote.
Woods shared Musk’s tweet, adding a comment of his own: “Agree. How would you like to fund a class action suit for those who were suppressed? I’ll be happy to be the lead plaintiff.”
The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify the content of the disclosures published by Taibbi and shared by Musk.
‘Various Forms of Government Fraud’
Former President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the Twitter disclosures should be seen as proof that Big Tech engaged in actions meant to influence the outcome of the 2020 election.
“Wow! That’s a really big story about Twitter and various forms of government Fraud including, specifically, Election Fraud,” Trump wrote.
“I am glad that everyone is now seeing the light on what I have been saying loud and clear for the last two years, that the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged and stolen by a combination of Democrats, Big Tech, ‘law enforcement,’ and other bad actors,” wrote the former president.
“The same level of Fraud took place with the other Big Tech companies, if not even worse (if that’s possible?),” Trump continued, adding, “We are living in a VERY CORRUPT COUNTRY.”
Congressional Inquiry
Meanwhile, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee said that Twitter staff involved in suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 presidential elections will face Congress and testify about their actions.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the GOP ranking member on the Committee, made the remarks in a Friday appearance on Fox News after Musk shared Taibbi’s thread exposing some of the inner workings of Twitter’s censorship machine.
“Every employee at Twitter who was involved in suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story will have an opportunity to come before Congress and explain their actions to the American people,” Comer told program host Sean Hannity.
Republicans have long accused Twitter—and some media outlets—of suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story, which included reporting that bolstered claims that the president lied when he said he had no involvement in his son’s overseas business dealings.
Comer, in his interview on Fox News, said that “this story is just the beginning,” adding that “we’re going to have every single person at Twitter that was involved in this in front of the House Oversight Committee as soon as possible.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to Twitter with a request for comment on Comer’s remarks.
Caden Pearson contributed to this report.
Follow
Tom Ozimek is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times. He has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education.
