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Trump Justice Dept. Tried To Use Grand Jury To Identify Nunes Critic on Twitter (nytimes.com) 261

The Justice Department under President Trump secretly obtained a grand-jury subpoena last year in an attempt to identify the person behind a Twitter account dedicated to mocking Representative Devin Nunes of California, according to a newly unsealed court document. From a report: But Twitter fought the subpoena, as well as an associated gag order barring the company from talking about it publicly. Twitter executives raised skepticism about whether the Justice Department might be abusing federal criminal law-enforcement power to retaliate against a critic of Mr. Nunes, a Republican who is a close ally of Mr. Trump, in violation of the First Amendment. Ultimately, according to a person familiar with the matter, the Justice Department withdrew the subpoena this spring, after President Biden took office.

What was going on behind the subpoena remains murky. The filing -- a motion to suppress the subpoena and lift the gag order that Twitter filed in March -- shows that the Justice Department sent the company a demand on Nov. 24 to provide identifying information about the user @NunesAlt. Twitter appears to have immediately been suspicious about the legitimacy of the request. The user of that account, the filing said, "appears to be engaged in clear First Amendment activity, discussing stances on current events, government policies and one elected official in particular -- Congressman Nunes." The filing provided examples of some of the account's tweets, such as a photograph of Mr. Nunes with text superimposed over his face: "Believe in conspiracy theories. Even if there is no evidence."

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Trump Justice Dept. Tried To Use Grand Jury To Identify Nunes Critic on Twitter

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  • by peppepz ( 1311345 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @04:24AM (#61395616)
    So much for the alt-righters moaning about ""the Left"" conspiring to stifle their free speech. When they are at the government, they abuse of the judicial power to both hunt down their critics and keep this abuse secret (the latter certainly not because of being ashamed, more probably in order to avoid losing moderate voters, even though the "moderate" have shown to be not too picky in that regard).
    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @05:13AM (#61395676) Homepage Journal

      It's all projection. They fear their opponents are doing the things they themselves would do. They assume everyone is just as bad as they are.

      • > They assume everyone is just as bad as they are.

        And unfortunately for all of us, they are just as bad, if not even worse.

        There is really no good choice, especially in a system where you can only decide between two corrupt parties whose primary objective is to enrich themselves, gain more power and push idiotic moral views (mostly anchored to a decaying and rotting superstition) on everyone.

        • Underrated
        • by omnichad ( 1198475 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @09:19AM (#61396280) Homepage

          There is really no good choice, especially in a system where you can only decide between two corrupt parties whose primary objective is to enrich themselves, gain more power and push idiotic moral views (mostly anchored to a decaying and rotting superstition) on everyone.

          Douglas Adams got it right. The only person qualified to hold positions of power are those that don't want it.

          "The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
          To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
          To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
          To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem."

        • by jeff4747 ( 256583 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @09:40AM (#61396354)

          And unfortunately for all of us, they are just as bad, if not even worse.

          Really? Please show me the grand jury subpoena that was filed during the Obama administration in an attempt to unmask someone who annoyed a Democratic congressman.

          Both sides are not the same. That doesn't mean either side is wonderful, it means there are significant differences, and insisting they are the same is the way you fight to keep the status quo.

      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        They assume everyone is just as bad as they are.

        Pretty much. In effect, that makes them a lot worse than anybody else.

    • Dubya / Bush Sr. / Reagan because all right-wingers spy on Americans. In most cases the Fox News opinion shows are right there telling you that you the government doesn't need a lube or a search warrant. The government shouldn't even need a warrant to search your home citizen, because if you've got nothing to hide then you've got nothing to fear.

      That's why I'm not surprised Barr was trying to out their faithful lackey's Twitter prankster. Poor Devin just couldn't deal with a labeled parody account making
  • by h33t l4x0r ( 4107715 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @04:34AM (#61395628)
    Phone records from journalists who were suspected of having leak sources related to Iran / NK nuclear programs, Manning, Snowden, etc. It's not the same thing, don't fucking try it.
  • by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @05:17AM (#61395680)

    The Justice Department employing unconstitutional tactics to silence free speech, or Twitter erecting themselves as the last rampart to defend the 1st amendment...

    • by martinX ( 672498 )

      Lol. You said erecting.

    • by hey! ( 33014 )

      One of the often overlooked elements of free speech is freedom from *compelled* speech. For example cannot force an adult American to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. That is just as much a First Amendment right as the freedom to express your own opinion on the commons.

      Twitter policing speech on its own turf is actually them exercising their First Amendment rights. I know it feels like Twitter is the commons, and so it feels like their polices violate your rights, but that's just not the case.

    • by DamnOregonian ( 963763 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @09:18AM (#61396276)
      If you're not sure which is scarier, then you are a fucking idiot.
      Anyone who gives a flying fuck if some dimwitted politician is no longer welcome on some fucking internet forum is too fucking stupid to form an opinion on a topic as complicated as freedom of speech.

      You know what the difference between the FBI and Twitter is?
      Twitter can't break into your fucking home and kill you for suspicion of a crime.
  • by Patent Lover ( 779809 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @07:51AM (#61395950)
  • Something like "Crossfire Hurricane" would have given it an aura of importance and authenticity.
  • by awwshit ( 6214476 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @08:49AM (#61396150)

    Nunes doesn't do anything but make noise, he hasn't done anything whatsoever for his constituents. Needs big daddy gov to save him from ridicule, what a tool.

  • The actual tech angle on some of these article postings is getting super thin. I get that tweaking the nipples of MAGA people was super-fun at one point, but it's getting to the point that it's more sad than entertaining. It's also ensured that the comments are now filled with tons of 8kun-quality garbage. It's not helping, it's just giving all this yet one more place to thrive.
  • I'm glad to know I don't live in the darkest timeline.

  • by shaitand ( 626655 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @09:53AM (#61396408) Journal
    It is interesting how you can use the same tactics and just swap out the ideology/spin.

    I'm not providing a link because I don't want to provide explicit targets. The pdf can be readily and easily found.

    pg. 6 - 7

    "5. Development and Control of the "Front" Organizations
      The development and control of "front" (or facade) organizations is
    carried out through subjective internal control at group meetings of "inside
    cadres," and the calculations of the time for the fusion of these combined
    efforts to be applied to the masses.

      Established citizens-doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers, etc.- will
    be recruited initially as "Social Crusaders" in typically "innocuous"
    movements in the area of operations. When their "involvement" with the
    clandestine organization is revealed to them, this supplies the psychological
    pressure to use them as "inside cadres" in groups to which they already
    belong or of which they can be members.

      Then they will receive instruction in techniques of persuasion over
    control of target groups to support our democratic revolution, through a
    gradual and skillful process. A cell control system isolates individuals from
    one another, and at the appropriate moment, their influence is used for the
    fusion of groups in a united national front.

    6. Control of Meetings and Mass Assemblies

      The control of mass meetings in support of guerrilla warfare is carried
    out internally through a covert commando element, bodyguards, messengers,
    shock forces (initiators of incidents), placard carriers (also used for making
    signals), shouters of slogans, everything under the control of the outside
    commando element.

      When the cadres are placed or recruited in organizations such as labor
    unions, youth groups agrarian organizations or professional associations,
    they will begin to manipulate the objectives of the groups. The
    psychological apparatus of our movement through inside cadres prepares a
    mental attitude which at the crucial moment can be turned into a fury of
    justified violence.

      Through a small group of guerrillas infiltrated within the masses this
    can be carried out; they will have the mission of agitating by giving the
    impression that there are many of them and that they have a large popular
    backing. Using the tactics of a force of 200-300 agitators, a demonstration
    can be created in which 10,000-20,000 persons take part."
  • by laie_techie ( 883464 ) on Tuesday May 18, 2021 @10:11AM (#61396498)

    So Twitter protects NunesAlt as exercising his First Amendment rights. When Twitter banned Trump (who was also exercising his First Amendment rights), the entire Left side came to their aid saying as a private company Twitter is not compelled to allow Free Speech. It seems you have Free Speech on Twitter as long as they like what you are saying.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • With the new censorship laws proposed in Canada by the Trudeau government, this should be a cautionary tale. It wouldn't be hard for a politically motivated push on the CRTC (Canadian equivalent of the FCC) to gag people and platforms from publishing posts critical of the government.
  • Crap like this, and so-called 'legislators' on the Republican side of the aisle still claiming the January 6th attack on Congress wasn't an 'attack'? Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you people?
    The best thing that could happen right now is for the Republican party to split off into the 'real' Republicans, and the 'Trump party'. Then everyone will know who are the power-grubbing traitors (the latter) and who are the actual patriots (the former).

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