Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called on the company’s new chief, Elon Musk, to publicly release the Twitter Files in the name of transparency, days after the social media giant’s former deputy general counsel James Baker, who played a role in suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story, was fired.
His termination came after it was revealed that he vetted the first part in the Twitter Files series without Musk’s knowledge.
"On Friday, the first installment of the Twitter files was published here. We expected to publish more over the weekend. Many wondered why there was a delay," said journalist Matt Taibbi, who reported on the first installment of the Twitter Files. "We can now tell you part of the reason why. On Tuesday, Twitter Deputy General Counsel (and former FBI General Counsel) Jim Baker was fired. Among the reasons? Vetting the first batch of 'Twitter Files' – without knowledge of new management."
He added, "The process for producing the ‘Twitter Files’ involved delivery to two journalists (Bari Weiss and me) via a lawyer close to new management. However, after the initial batch, things became complicated. Over the weekend, while we both dealt with obstacles to new searches, it was @BariWeiss who discovered that the person in charge of releasing the files was someone named Jim. When she called to ask ‘Jim’s’ last name, the answer came back: ‘Jim Baker.’
"‘My jaw hit the floor,’ says Weiss," Taibbi added.
Given this development, Dorsey wanted to know why all the files aren’t just released to the public.
"If the goal is transparency to build trust, why not just release everything without filter and let people judge for themselves? Including all discussions around current and future actions?" Dorsey asked Musk. "Make everything public now."
“Most important data was hidden (from you too) and some may have been deleted, but everything we find will be released,” Musk replied.
Most important data was hidden (from you too) and some may have been deleted, but everything we find will be released
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2022
As many reminded Dorsey, this all happened on his watch.
.@jack implies that if he was still in charge, he would've released the embarrassing emails showing how content was banned for political reasons. This, of course, ignores the fact that it happened on Jack's watch, and he did nothing about it.
— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) December 7, 2022
Where was trust & transparency then?
You enabled the election interference. Don’t play the hero now. If you wanted transparency & an even playing field you would’ve done something about it.
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) December 8, 2022
Isn’t that something you should’ve done? Just saying.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) December 7, 2022