It’s possible that missed this, because it happened on MSNBC. And generally speaking, if it happened on MSNBC, it’s not worth spending much time on.
But we’re making an exception for this, because it’s a genuine, legitimate outrage. We’re talking about MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan’s bizarre and, quite frankly, deranged campaign to not just discredit, but completely destroy independent journalist and “Twitter Files” contributor Matt Taibbi.
From earlier this month:
Me: "It's just error after error, Matt?"@mtaibbi: "Well, that is an error."
Watch me confront Matt Taibbi with multiple, unacknowledged, and glaring mistakes in his Twitter Files reporting.
Full @MehdiHasanShow interview later tonight. Preview:pic.twitter.com/TnbS8oZ1rj
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 6, 2023
Me: "Why not [fix the error]? Do you not have editors at [your site] The Racket?"
Matt Taibbi: "I didn't realize that until now."pic.twitter.com/TnbS8oZ1rj— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 6, 2023
Me: "They flagged 3,000 [tweets]. So you were off by 21,997,000."
Matt Taibbi: "I stand by my story."In fact, he doesn't. Taibbi has, since our interview earlier today, removed this error/tweet from his Twitter Files reporting. Full interview tonight.pic.twitter.com/TnbS8oZ1rj
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 6, 2023
If you'd like to watch my full 25-minute @MehdiHasanShow interview with Matt Taibbi, in which we also debate whether the FBI and Adam Schiff etc were 'censoring' people via Twitter, and whether there was bias against conservatives, etc, here's the link:https://t.co/ZYhwNUCfbZ
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 7, 2023
OK, but why would anybody want to watch that? Especially when we all know how Mehdi Hasan operates?
Independent investigative journalist Lee Fang knows how Mehdi operates, and he extensively documented the myriad issues with Hasan’s supposed own of Taibbi:
Here is my first Substack story. Mehdi Hasan claimed Taibbi “deliberately & under oath misrepresented” the facts about the DHS/CISA's work w/content moderation org EIP. That's a serious charge, one that I debunk with new Twitter Files emails & other docs. https://t.co/yKpKWVRMUs
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 11, 2023
Mehdi claimed Taibbi lied under oath to Congress – a felony that can be prosecuted with prison – by claiming CISA worked with EIP on content moderation. Mehdi says the truth is that only a private sector org w/ a similar acronym, CIS, worked w/EIP. Mehdi is wrong and here's how.
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 11, 2023
EIP had an internal ticketing system to flag content for censorship to Twitter, and an internal messaging system to alert CIS *AND* CISA. DHS/CISA elevate EIP-flagged tweets for Twitter. Here is a newly unearthed Twitter email in Oct 2020 showing the process. pic.twitter.com/i5CB5ycwFo
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 11, 2023
So Taibbi wasn’t lying under oath, then? How do you like that?
Mehdi doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like that at all:
To be clear: Taibbi deliberately & under oath misrepresented a nonprofit for a government intelligence agency, & suggested another nonprofit traveled back through time to get '22 million' posts 'labeled' as misinformation (it didn't &, er, couldn't.)
These are not 'minor' errors.— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 9, 2023
To be clear, since there is some confusion on the reading of this, I'm not accusing anyone of 'perjury'. I'm saying Taibbi deliberately added an 'A' to turn CIS into CISA. Maybe in good faith (!) But he did it deliberately & then repeated the demonstrably false claim in the House
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 11, 2023
Mehdi’s not accusing anyone of perjury! He’s just accusing someone of deliberately lying under oath! Don’t get it twisted.
Speaking of repeating demonstrably false claims, what would you call what Mehdi Hasan is doing?
Mehdi Hasan's claim that EIP only partnered with CIS, not CISA, is debunked by EIP itself. EIP's annual report says the group was founded in consultation with CISA/DHS. Here's EIP's director saying its main government partner was CISA-DHS. pic.twitter.com/GvRrcnTP66
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 11, 2023
CIS, or the Center for Internet Security, is a government contractor that manages partnerships on behalf of DHS. The two orgs worked hand-in-glove. This idea that CIS is totally separate is totally farcical and belies the way DHS exerts influence.
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 11, 2023
For whatever reason, Mehdi Hasan & others dismiss concerns about DHS overreach by personalizing the debate and smearing Taibbi. Well before the Twitter Files, I wrote last year about DHS mission creep into social media, including the EIP-CISA partnership. https://t.co/qvSP2niEWP
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 11, 2023
This isn't new or about Elon Musk. Eight years ago, as the legislation authorizing CISA was gaining steam in Congress, I wrote about how the new DHS subagency represented a vast expansion of surveillance powers, fusing big government and big business. https://t.co/4QENxdXNTD
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 11, 2023
Mehdi Hasan is still lying. He claimed Taibbi conflated CIS and CISA *during his congressional testimony* and Taibbi thus lied under oath. There's no proof of that, only vast evidence that Taibbi was correct that CISA partnered w/ EIP to flag content. https://t.co/L5g6E68rHy
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 11, 2023
We all make mistakes as journalists. The q re integrity is how we own up to them. Taibbi got an acronym wrong in a tweet, not his congressional testimony. He immediately corrected the record. @mehdirhasan has not corrected any of his falsehoods and continues defaming Taibbi.
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 11, 2023
Almost as if Mehdi Hasan wouldn’t know actual journalism if it spat in his face.
Here's Mehdi Hasan's original tweet claiming Taibbi was wrong to say CISA elevated EIP content for censorship to Twitter. Mehdi claims Taibbi mixed up CISA and CIS. The emails I posted today clearly show Taibbi was 100% correct in his testimony. https://t.co/WnPyl89LHm
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 11, 2023
Oh well. Apparently it doesn’t matter whether Taibbi’s testimony was accurate and correct. Looks like Mehdi Hasan got what he came for.
Can someone who is not blocked by Mehdi ask him how he feels about his monologue being used to threaten a journalist with prison? A typo in a Tweet thread is not lying before Congress. https://t.co/Yiv6NCB1yL
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) April 20, 2023
Mehdi’s probably quite pleased with himself now that a member of Congress threatening to have Matt Taibbi thrown into prison:
Mehdi's viral deception that Taibbi lied under oath about DHS/CISA now has House Dems explicitly threatening Taibbi w/ imprisonment. Taibbi was accurate in this quote, yet here's a letter from Rep. Stacey Plaskett citing Mehdi to float a threat of 5 years of jail against Taibbi pic.twitter.com/VYf2tw8LDE
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 20, 2023
Oh.
Is this for real?
— Jonathan Kogan (@Kogz) April 20, 2023
Yes it is. And ironically, Stacey Plaskett happens to be a ranking member on this particular House Judiciary subcommittee:
Ranking member of House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government threatens journalist with imprisonment for reporting on the weaponization of the federal government.
You really can’t make this stuff up.
Please look at this tweet and this thread.
The repellent fake-Congresswoman @StaceyPlaskett took the bullshit lies from MSNBC and Mehdi Hasan on how @MattTaibbi confused acronyms when testifying before Congress, and sent him a letter threatening him with prosecution and prison: https://t.co/ZyplAohBDp
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 20, 2023
Reckless behavior by @StaceyPlaskett. Disagree with Taibbi all you want, but there’s no better way to confirm the point of his reporting than to threaten him with imprisonment for telling Congress about his reporting. https://t.co/wOKJ3BMqLh
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) April 20, 2023
Dem Rep. Stacey Plaskett is threatening @mtaibbi with prison over his Twitter Files testimony. The testimony is actually accurate-though she's referring to an error in a tweet that's been corrected.
That's beside the point: To call for a reporter to be jailed is beyond the pale pic.twitter.com/27jKRZKRTl
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) April 20, 2023
We sure have come a long way.
She should resign from Congress for this and at minimum should be removed from the committee. The press is not the enemy of the people and threatening reporters with prison — especially as we work to free Evan in Moscow — is reckless and dangerous. https://t.co/sA7ez6gJxA
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) April 20, 2023
So when can we expect the firefighters to rally to Taibbi’s defense? Maybe when hell freezes over.
Remember when it was a grave press freedom crisis when Trump insulted Jim Acosta and Chuck Todd?
Now here's a pretend-Congresswoman threatening a journalist with prison for the #TwitterFiles – based on *lies* – and I guarantee few liberals will object. https://t.co/qcuyOU4JAx
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 20, 2023
Democrat House Reps are now threatening journalists with prison. Are the norms restored to everyone's satisfaction now? https://t.co/LGB3lVqojf
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 20, 2023
***
Related:
Nothing to see here, just Biden’s IRS visiting the home of main #TwitterFiles journo, Matt Taibbi
***
Do you enjoy Twitchy’s conservative reporting taking on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth. Join Twitchy VIP and use the promo code SAVEAMERICA to get 40% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member