Tenney Leads Members of House Election Integrity Caucus in Letter Demanding Answers From Twitter About Election Interference

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22), co-chair of the House Election Integrity Caucus, today led 18 of her colleagues, including Election Integrity Caucus co-chair Mike Garcia (CA) and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (NY), in a letter to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal demanding answers about Twitter’s censorship of media reporting on Hunter Biden’s ‘laptop from hell’ prior to the 2020 presidential election. The letter highlights Twitter’s interference in the election and asks for clarity and accountability on the process of deciding to censor the story and whether it was done in coordination with the Biden campaign.

On October 14, 2020, Twitter suspended the New York Post’s account and stopped others from sharing its content after the outlet broke a story about a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, the son of then-candidate Joe Biden. This laptop contained damning emails from Hunter Biden, showing how he exploited his connections to his then-Vice President father to profit and further his own career interests by leveraging his father’s position and connections for massive paychecks from foreign entities. After months of denying or refusing to report on this, The New York Times and other mainstream media outlets recently confirmed the existence of Biden’s laptop.

A recent survey from the Media Research Center found that more than 45% of Biden voters in swing states were entirely unaware of the New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop. The same survey also found that nearly 10% of Biden voters would have chosen a different candidate had they known about the story prior to the election.

“Big Tech oligarchs have grown far too powerful, censoring free speech that challenges their preferred narrative and their handpicked politicians. In 2020, this reached a new low. Twitter’s actions to silence the New York Post and others undoubtedly swayed the outcome of the presidential election. The free flow of information is key to a healthy democracy and to free and fair elections. Congress must be unequivocal in its response and hold Big Tech accountable. Today, I am calling on Twitter to provide answers to the American people. Then, Congress should break up big tech, take an axe to Section 230, and ensure Silicon Valley elites can no longer interfere in our elections,” said Tenney.

The letter was also signed by Reps. Glenn Grothman (WI), Nancy Mace (SC), Bill Posey (FL), Pat Fallon (TX), Debbie Lesko (AZ), Brian Babin (TX), Carlos Gimenez (FL), Doug LaMalfa (TX), Ralph Norman (SC), W. Gregory Steube (FL), Barry Loudermilk (GA), Barry Moore (AL), Dan Bishop (NC), Ted Budd (NC), Pete Stauber (MN), and Vicky Hartzler (MO).

The full text of the letter is available here.

Dear Mr. Agrawal:

We write today as members of the House Election Integrity Caucus. Many of our constituents have contacted us to share their deep concerns about Twitter’s meddling in the 2020 presidential election, concerns that we share. As you know, on October 14, 2020, the New York Post broke a story about a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, the son of then-candidate Joe Biden. The laptop reportedly contained damning emails from Hunter Biden, showing how he exploited his connections to his then-Vice President father to further his own career interests, leveraged his connections for massive paychecks from foreign entities, and much more. Twitter then suspended the New York Post’s account for more than two weeks and blocked users from sharing the article because of what it called concerns about the “origins of the material.”

At the time, many of us expressed deep concern by this blatant act of censorship, especially given that it came less than one month before the presidential election. A major American media outlet was locked out of its account on your supposedly neutral platform and the American people were subsequently barred from reading a news article that could have had serious consequences on the presidential election. On March 16, 2022, the New York Times published a report confirming what many of us suspected from the start—that the Hunter Biden laptop story was, in fact, true and not Russian disinformation, as partisans cynically suggested.

The New York Times’ report confirming the existence of what is now known as Hunter Biden’s ‘laptop from hell’ has renewed concern over Twitter’s interference in a presidential election. You may have seen a recent survey from the Media Research Center outlining the potential impact of Twitter’s censorship of news related to the election. The survey found that more than 45% of Biden voters in swing states were entirely unaware of the New York Posts’ reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop. The same survey also found that nearly 10% of Biden voters would have chosen a different candidate had they known about the story prior to the election. As indicated by this survey, big tech censorship clearly played a role in swaying the outcome of the 2020 election and damaged the confidence of the American people in our elections system.

In light of this information, we request a response to the following questions no later than Friday, April 22, 2022:

1. Who at Twitter made the decision to censor the New York Post’s story on Hunter Biden’s ‘laptop from hell’?
2. Did Twitter censor the New York Post’s story on Hunter Biden’s ‘laptop from hell’ because it thought the story would hurt Joe Biden’s candidacy for president?
3. Did Twitter coordinate its censorship of this story with any individuals directly or indirectly involved with the Biden campaign?
4. Do you believe it is Twitter’s role to serve as the arbiter of truth and to sway the outcome of elections based on the political persuasions of its leadership?

As members of House Election Integrity Caucus, we take the safety, security, and integrity of our elections very seriously. Public trust in our elections has been eroded to historic lows, and Congress and our institutions must take meaningful action to restore this faith.

We look forward to your prompt attention to this critical matter.

Sincerely,

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