Tea Party Patriots Foundation said Tuesday it was filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Twitter, alleging the social media company violated campaign finance laws through its treatment of bad news for Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden.
Jenny Beth Martin, TPPF president, said in a statement she believes Twitter has used “corporate resources well in excess of $25,000 in their ongoing efforts to support the Biden candidacy while opposing President Trump’s reelection.”
TPPF said its complaint focuses squarely on Twitter, its CEO Jack Dorsey, and Twitter vice president Brandon Borrman.
“Twitter and its executives, Dorsey and Borrman, are knowingly and willfully using the resources of their multi-billion dollar corporate leviathan to assist and promote Biden while at the same time, and for several months now, disseminating negative stories about President Trump, and challenging, blocking and undermining information from and by President Trump,” Ms. Martin said in a statement. “Federal law prohibits corporations from using their treasury funds and corporate resources in support of or opposition to federal candidates. Twitter’s conduct is in blatant disregard of federal law.”
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Dorsey will soon face the scrutiny of federal lawmakers when he testifies before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation later this month. Mr. Dorsey’s testimony is for lawmakers’ review of the efficacy of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields companies such as Twitter from being held liable for content posted by users on its platform.
The Senate Judiciary Committee also intends to vote Thursday to authorize a subpoena for Mr. Dorsey to testify on his company’s restriction of news reports involving emails attributed to Hunter Biden that contradict his father’s claims.
