White House dismisses the 'Twitter files' as 'full of old news'

White House FINALLY breaks its silence on the Hunter Biden Twitter files… only to call it a ‘distraction’ and ‘OLD NEWS’: Karine Jean-Pierre says Elon Musk just wants to divert attention away from site’s ‘hate and disinformation’

• Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday shrugged off a question about the ‘Twitter files’
• Conservatives say they show how liberals are colluding with big tech 
• But the White House press secretary said they were a ‘distraction’ 
• Instead she said Elon Musk and Twitter should address the ‘rising volume of anger, hate and antisemitism’ on the platform

The White House on Monday dismissed a release of Twitter emails showing internal discussions around suppressing stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop as ‘old news’ and a distraction from the real issue of why the platform was not doing more to tackle hate speech.

Conservatives have seized on the release, dubbed the ‘Twitter files’, as evidence that Democrats are in league with tech giants as they suppress unflattering stories.

But Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre played down the impact of Elon Musk’s decision to release the information.

‘We see this as an interesting … or a coincidence, if I may, that he would so haphazardly push this distraction that is so full of old news, if you think about it, and at the same time, Twitter is facing very real and very serious questions about the rising volume of anger, hate and antisemitism on their platform, and how they’re letting it happen,’ she said.

‘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.’

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed the ‘Twitter files’ as full of ‘old news’ on Monday, and said they were just a distraction from the real issue of rising levels of hate and antisemitism on Elon Musk’s social media platform

The decision by Twitter to limit the spread of a New York Post story about Hunter Biden in 2020 triggered accusations that Joe Biden’s campaign was working with the social media platform to suppress unflattering stories in the weeks before the election

Files released on Friday evening included attempts by members of the Biden campaign and the Trump White House to have executives review or remove tweets.

But they focused on the decision by Twitter to suppress a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop.

The story’s reach was quickly limited on Twitter and Facebook over fears that it could have been the product of hacking or a Russian disinformation attempt. 

Social media platforms had been on high alert for foreign influence campaigns after Wikileaks published hacked emails from Democratic Party officials during the 2016 campaign. 

Allies of Donald Trump, in particular, seized on the files to suggest that he was the victim of efforts to tilt the election against him.

Musk called the documents the ‘definition of election interference,’ and Trump on Saturday renewed his claims of election fraud that have been tossed out of court – and then called for the Constitution to be suspended. 

Hunter Biden greeted attendees at an event at the White House for Kennedy Center honorees on Sunday. But he kept mum when asked about Elon Musk posting ‘Twitter files’ related to efforts to suppress information from his infamous laptop and House Republican probes of his business practices that are gearing up

He has been a frequently sight, with wife Melissa Cohen and son Beau, at the White House or on vacation trips with the rest of the Biden clan

The release focused on messages between senior Twitter figures about the site’s suppression of the infamous New York Post story. 

The story was published less than three weeks before the 2020 election. Other news organizations were unable to verify its allegations that Hunter Biden introduced his father to a senior figure at a Ukrainian energy company.

The Post said it was based on materials supplied by Trump allies Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani. 

The internal Twitter discussions were published in a thread by journalist Matt Taibbi on the platform. 

They showed executives going back and forth as they grappled with the site’s hacked materials rules. Several were hesitant about whether Hunter Biden’s laptop was accessed through unscrupulous means.

Taibbi also published screenshots showing Twitter employees complying with requests from the Biden campaign to take down certain links – a practice followed by both campaigns at the time.

Musk promoted the release, which he dubbed the ‘Twitter Files.’ He took aim at his new company for supposed collusion with the Biden campaign by leaking old company emails

Following the host of seemingly damning posts, Musk, wrote, ‘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’

Links sent by the Biden team allegedly included naked photos of Hunter Biden that would have been posted without his consent. At no point does it show Biden officials asking for the Post story’s removal. 

Republicans see an opportunity to accuse opponents of trying to suppress free speech.

Rep. James Comer, who will likely take over the House Oversight Committee when the new Congress sits, said Twitter executives would have to answer to him  

‘I can promise you this,’ he told Fox News on Friday. ‘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. 

‘This was a huge story.’

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