Social Media Coordination Between DOJ and FBI Is Not Limited to Twitter: Devin Nunes

Social Media Coordination Between DOJ and FBI Is Not Limited to Twitter: Devin Nunes
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland (C), FBI Director Christopher Wray (R) and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco hold a press conference at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington on Oct. 24, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Katie Spence
12/15/2022
Updated:
12/15/2022
0:00
The social media coordination between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI isn’t limited to Twitter, former Congressman and current CEO of President Trump’s Truth Social, Devin Nunes, alleged in an interview that aired on Newsmakers by NTD and The Epoch Times on Dec. 14.

The Twitter Files, a collection of internal emails and communications made public by Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, confirmed what many Conservatives have alleged for years. Namely, Twitter was shadow-banning accounts that didn’t fit a specific ideology and suspending accounts that bucked the chosen political narrative, Nunes claimed.

The Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk are displayed through a magnifier in this illustration taken on Oct. 27, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
The Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk are displayed through a magnifier in this illustration taken on Oct. 27, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

But, the most concerning revelation in the Twitter Files, according to Nunes, is that the DOJ and the FBI had informants—whether paid or volunteers—that put forward a specific directive to Twitter, and that is likely happening on other social media platforms.

“The coordination that the Department of Justice and the FBI clearly had with Twitter? I don’t think it stops there,” Nunes stated.

“It seems like they were either running informants, or had paid informants, or had volunteers, where they were actively sending information on behalf of the government on who to look into, or who to ban, and that sort of thing.

“The bigger issue is, Twitter is one thing, but what about Facebook? What about Instagram?”

Censorship and Shadow-Banning

According to Nunes, Trump developed Truth Social because, before Musk bought Twitter, Trump recognized that there was absolute control over public discourse in the United States.

Furthermore, that control led to shadow banning and suspending social media accounts, so those accounts couldn’t criticize the controlling regime in the proverbial public square.

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 28, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 28, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

And while Nunes further stated that he’d recently discussed the Twitter File drops with Trump—and in general, Trump is glad Musk purchased Twitter—Trump still believes Musk needs to release all of the Twitter Files to the public and not go through cherry-picked journalists.

“What [do] we really need from Elon Musk and Twitter at this point? Just release all the files. Don’t just have selective journalists look at it. Release all the files so everyone can begin to evaluate them. You never know what you’re going to find [with more people looking at the files].”

Nunes said he believes that by releasing all the files, even more will be uncovered by citizen journalists and by Congress. He added he’s not alone in the belief that Musk should release all files and noted that Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s former CEO and founder, also called on Musk to release the Twitter Files to the public.

Legacy Media Silence

The Twitter Files contained explosive revelations. But the legacy media has largely avoided covering the drops. When asked why there was silence, Nunes stated that the legacy media had supported a particular narrative and political party.

Musk revealing damaging information on government censorship has put the media in an interesting predicament where if they cover the files, they also expose their complicity and damaging information to their preferred political group.

“There’s a strange cat-and-mouse game where [Musk] is sitting on what seems to be a treasure trove of really damaging information to not only the fake news media but also to probably many areas within the United States government,” Nunes stated.

Jeff Bezos speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, on Sept. 19, 2019. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)
Jeff Bezos speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, on Sept. 19, 2019. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)

“[Musk] has hinted that he has information on [Dr. Anthony] Fauci. So, we’re all just kinda sitting back and watching this cat-and-mouse game play out, where you’ve got one of the world’s oligarchs [who] has decided to say, ‘Look, if [Jeff] Bezos can buy the Washington Post, I can buy Twitter.’ And in the process of that, Elon Musk is saying things that, quite frankly, make him sound slightly center Right.”

Nunes further alleged that Musk’s recent behavior shows a certain amount of “opening up” on the internet. He cheekily added that if they could find another oligarch to buy Facebook and Instagram, the internet would be a far better place.

The Twitter Files

Since taking over Twitter, Musk has become increasingly vocal about transparency and the need for people to see what happened behind the scenes at the tech company. To that end, he released secret emails and discussions about shadow-banning or removing accounts that didn’t toe the party line.
FBI Director Christopher Wray (C), Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco hold a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington on Oct. 24, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
FBI Director Christopher Wray (C), Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco hold a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington on Oct. 24, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

As part of its reporting, The Epoch Times sought comment from the DOJ and the FBI on the Twitter Files revelations and their involvement with social media companies. The Epoch Times didn’t receive a response by the time of publication.

Katie Spence covers various topics, focusing mainly on energy and politics for The Epoch Times. She has also covered medical industry censorship and collusion with government. Before starting her career as a journalist, Katie proudly served in the Air Force as an Airborne Operations Technician on JSTARS. She can be reached at: [email protected]
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