On Thursday, the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government conducted a hearing on the Twitter Files, which have revealed efforts by the federal government and big tech to censor speech.
Congressional Democrats have tried to use the opportunity to champion censorship and attack Twitter Files reporters Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger as pawns of dangerous free speech advocate Elon Musk, who cherrypicked information from internal Twitter communications in support of the GOP narrative.
It did not go well for them, but one particular line of questioning turned out to be the most hilariously unintentionally funny exchange I’ve seen in a House hearing.
Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) questioned both Taibbi and Shellenberger during the hearing, and it was genuinely entertaining comedy as she proceeded to embarrass herself.
“In… in your discussion—in your answer, you also said that you were invited by a friend, Bari Weiss?” Garcia asked, already sounding confused, as if she had no idea what she was even questioning the witnesses about.
“My friend, Bari Weiss,” Shellenberger repeated for clarity.
“So this friend works for Twitter? Or, what is, what is her, ummm—”
“She’s a journalist,” Taibbi explained, much to the irritation of Garcia, who probably should have known who Bari Weiss was before participating in the hearing.
“Sir, I didn’t ask you a question,” Garcia snapped. “I’m now asking Mr. Shellenberger a question.”
At this point, Taibbi and Shellenberger both start to laugh. I suspect they were more than just a little amused at Garcia’s cluelessness regarding the subject matter she was questioning them about.
“Yes, ma’am, Bari Weiss is a journalist,” Shellenberger interjected.
“I’m sorry, sir,”
“She’s a journalist,” Shellenberger repeated.
“She’s a journalist, so you work in concert with her?”
It was a rather dumb question, but Shellenberger eventually, after pondering it for a few seconds, responded in the affirmative.
“Do you know when she first, uhhh, was contacted by Mr. Musk?” Garcia asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know,” she echoed. “So you’re in this as a threesome?”
At this point, I don’t know how Shellenberger or Taibbi held it together. People in the gallery were audibly holding back laughter. Eventually, Shellenberger was able to reply and explain that there were “many more people involved than that.”
Through her line of questioning, Rep. Sylvia Garcia reveals she doesn't know who @bariweiss is and proceeds to ask a rather…awkwardly worded question. pic.twitter.com/zjF6gRk33U
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 9, 2023
Bari Weiss, who wasn’t able to make it to D.C. for the hearing, responded to the ridiculous questioning on Twitter.
“I am dead,” she tweeted. “but nothing but love for [Shellenberger] and [Taibbi] who do a heroic job of not completely breaking down here.”
I’m still laughing myself.
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