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6 Dec, 2022

Musk fires Baker for vetting Twitter Files

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Musk fires Baker, Twitter’s deputy general counsel, over concerns he tried to suppress information about the social media platform’s handling of the Hunter Biden laptop controversy. Baker was involved in discussions about whether the laptop falls under Twitter’s “hacked materials” policy. In one of the Twitter files’ emails Baker wrote:

I support the conclusion that we need more facts to assess whether the materials were hacked. At this stage, however, it’s reasonable for us to assume that they may have been and that caution is warranted.

Matt Taibbi, the journalist releasing Twitter’s files, said that he and another journalist, Bari Weiss, were dealing “with obstacles to new searches” when Weiss discovered that Baker had vetted the first batch of “Twitter Files” – without knowledge of new management.

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

Musk said Baker, had offered an “unconvincing” explanation for his actions when confronted.

In light of concerns about Baker’s possible role in suppression of information important to the public dialogue, he was exited from Twitter today…His explanation was …unconvincing.