Staff Reports
In a startling revelation, the House Judiciary Committee published a 27-page report detailing additional allegations of social media censorship by the Biden administration. This time, the investigation reveals a troubling collaboration between the FBI and the Ukrainian espionage agency, SBU, to target American social media accounts, including those of journalists and even the State Department. Can you imagine it? Our own FBI working for a foreign intelligence agency! This should be of concern to all Americans.
New Report: More Biden Censorship of US Social Media in Collusion With Ukrainian Spy Agency https://t.co/DHbaJJrHgi
— RedState (@RedState) July 11, 2023
The report, based on subpoenaed documents, reveals that the FBI was willing to support and implement the SBU's requests to close certain accounts, including those belonging to American citizens. It is preposterous that the FBI would flag authentic accounts of Americans expressing pro-Ukrainian or anti-Putin sentiments. We ought to defend free speech, not stifle it!
Q: A new report says "the FBI partnered with a Ukrainian intelligence agency to assess 'disinformation' and censor U.S. social media accounts … What are you able to tell us?"
Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan: "I have not seen that report." pic.twitter.com/RRo6mXw1XI
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 11, 2023
This collaboration was spearheaded by FBI agent Aleksandr Kobzanets, who was stationed in Kyiv until last year. Following the SBU's instructions, he sent requests to Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, as well as to Google, YouTube, and Twitter. It is incomprehensible that the FBI would follow the SBU's "disinformation" registries without challenging their veracity. Who controls this situation, the FBI or a foreign intelligence agency?
The report exposes an alarming email exchange between Agent Kobzanets and Yoel Roth, Twitter's Head of Trust and Safety. Included on the list of allegedly disinformation-spreading Twitter accounts sent by Agent Kobzanets were American and Canadian journalists. Roth raised concerns regarding the targeting of journalists, but Agent Kobzanets completely disregarded their rights and the press freedom. This is not how a democracy ought to function!
The report also emphasizes the brazen request made by the SBU to Meta on March 2, accusing Instagram accounts, including the official, verified Russian-language account of the U.S. Department of State, of "distributing content that promotes war" without providing any justification. According to the SBU, how did the U.S. State Department become involved in disinformation? This significantly undermines the credibility of these requests.
Even more alarming is the indication that the FBI and SBU will continue to work together. That's correct, this is not archaic history. The Biden administration must explain why the FBI continues to engage in such dubious activities. Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor, failed to refute the allegations when questioned about them and instead claimed he had not seen the report. How practical! This lack of transparency only increases our mistrust.
Don't forget that the Biden administration just last week confronted a landmark free speech case that limited their ability to collude with social media platforms to censor speech. However, they never seem to learn their lesson. Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged in July 2021 that problematic COVID-related Facebook posts were flagged. It is evident that they have no regard for the First Amendment and are willing to violate our rights.
This is a flagrant violation of our fundamental rights and an egregious abuse of power by the Biden administration. Congress must intervene to halt this insanity. We cannot allow our government to collude with foreign intelligence agencies or stifle dissenting social media voices. It is time for a comprehensive housecleaning and for those who enable this hazardous behavior to be removed from office. Our democracy is in jeopardy, and we must defend it at any cost.
