Key events
Returning to reaction to the decision by Meta to allow Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram, our own star columnist, Berkeley professor and former US labor secretary, Robert Reich, is not impressed by Mark Zuckerberg’s social media behemoth.
“Why the hell is Zuckerberg giving Donald Trump a free pass to lie and incite violence? The last time Trump’s election lies went unchecked, he abused his massive online megaphone to incite the violent January 6th insurrection — which led to his ban in the first place,” Reich tweeted.
Why the hell is Zuckerberg giving Donald Trump a free pass to lie and incite violence?
The last time Trump’s election lies went unchecked, he abused his massive online megaphone to incite the violent January 6th insurrection — which led to his ban in the first place.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) January 26, 2023
And here’s former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, who was part of the team of special counsel Robert Mueller who investigated allegations that Trump’s 2016 election campaign colluded with Russia to swing opinion against his rival Hillary Clinton, and then obstructed justice.
What’s the Meta theory here: yes, you incited an insurrection to overthrow democracy, but let’s let bygones be bygones? Or, to quote Susan Collins, do you think he has learned his lesson? We know from DJT’s false statements since then that is not true.
— Andrew Weissmann 🌻 (@AWeissmann_) January 26, 2023
US attorney general Merrick Garland is taking questions from reporters at a media appearance called ostensibly to talk about the fact that the FBI has seized a website used by the so-called Hive ransomware group.
But he just took a question from a reporter who asked if he was considering an effort to coordinate the work of the special counsels appointed by him to investigate, respectively, the classified documents found in a raid by federal agents on Donald Trump’s Florida residence last summer. The former president refused to return material to the government taken by him from the White House after he lost the 2020 election, and investigate the much smaller number of classified documents found at Joe Biden’s Delaware home and a former related-office in Washington, and subsequently voluntarily handed over.
The reporter asked Garland if there was likely to be an coordination on timing of the conclusions of those respective investigations or issuing of any reports or announcement of actions as a result.
Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith last November to determine whether Trump should face criminal charges stemming from his alleged mishandling of national security materials, as well as his role in the 6 January, 2021, attack on the US Capitol in the dying days of his one-term presidency when he didn’t want to give up the White House to Joe Biden. Garland wanted to step away from the investigation after Trump announced he was running for the presidency in 2024, to try to avoid a political quagmire.
Earlier this month, Garland named Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate Biden’s retention of classified documents from his time as vice-president and as a US Senator.
Garland said, moments ago: “I do not want to talk about particulars of investigations, particularly not a special counsel investigation.
“As a general matter, people we choose for special counsel are experienced prosecutors with experience in the Justice Department. They know how the justice department works, they know what the department’s practices are and I’m fully confident that they will resolve these matters one way or the other in the highest traditions of the department.”
Here’s the Guardian’s great explainer on the differences between the Trump and Biden cases.
Not forgetting that two days ago it emerged that classified documents have now also been found at former vice president Mike Pence’s home in Indiana. No special counsel in that case, yet, as DoJ scrutinizes.
Talking of Adam Schiff, he was out of the gate early last night to blast social media giant Meta for its decision to allow Donald Trump back onto its platforms Facebook and Instagram, two years after the company suspended the former US president over inflammatory misinformation.
Schiff said that Meta is now putting profits over the public interest with an “inexplicable” and “tragic” decision.
“It represents, in my view, a total caving in and copping out,” he told Joy Reid, the host of the ReidOut show on MSNBC, adding: “The only motive I can see is a profit motive here.”
Separately, Schiff commented that: “Trump incited an insurrection. Giving him back access to a social media platform to spread his lies and demagoguery is dangerous.”
High-profile California congressman Adam Schiff has announced a run for the US Senate, putting him up against congresswoman Katie Porter in a race for a seat that is not vacant (yet).
The person occupying it, 89-year-old senator Dianne Feinstein, has not yet announced whether she’ll see reelection in 2024 when her latest term is up.
Schiff was an impeachment manager against Donald Trump and also served on the House special committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection and Trump’s role in that unprecedented and deadly chaos at the US Capitol.
The outspoken California Democrat is a regular on politics chat shows.
California’s other senator, Alex Padilla, is not up for reelection until 2028. There have been lots of questions about the state of Feinstein’s health and fitness for the job.
Porter threw her hat in the ring earlier this month and is best known for sharp and clear attacks on greed and fraud in corporate America.
An “avalanche” of candidates is expected for Feinstein’s seat, my colleague Maanvi Singh writes.
Trump can attack 2020 results, but 2024? Not so much – Facebook
Facebook and Instagram’s owner, Meta, is reportedly ready to allow Donald Trump to post on the platforms by continuing his attacks on the results of the 2020 presidential election, the company told CNN.
The former president continues to insist in public that he won the election but that widespread fraud and conspiracies denied him his victory and wrongly awarded the White House to Democrat Joe Biden. He also encourages political candidates who parrot this lie, although that didn’t work out so well in the midterm elections last November.
A swath of prominent “election deniers” lost their bids for offices ranging from congressional seats to governorships and attorney general and secretary of state posts that would have had a huge influence on voting laws in those states.
But CNN reports that a Meta spokesperson last night told Oliver Darcy for his Reliable Sources news letter that Trump “will be permitted to attack the results of the 2020 election without facing consequences from the company. However, the spokesperson said, if Trump were to cast doubt on an upcoming election — like, the 2024 presidential race — the social giant will take action. In those cases, Meta might limit the distribution of the violative post or restrict access to advertising tools.”
Minutes after Meta announced it will allow Trump back, the ex-president was on his Truth Social app posting about supposed fraud in the 2020 election. Meta tells me posts attacking 2020 will be allowed, but posts attacking 2024 are a different story. More: https://t.co/Svno2MENlx
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 26, 2023
Well that sounds rock solid from Meta…to be clear, Trump hasn’t been readmitted to the platforms yet, it’s expected some time soon, and since being readmitted to Twitter last year under its new owner, Elon Musk, he hasn’t tweeted.
Prior to Musk’s awkward takeover of Twitter, the platform had declared on January 8, 2021, that Trump’s account was permanently suspended, citing his repeated violations of the company’s rules and his inflammatory tweets risking risks “further incitement of violence” after he encouraged the insurrection by his supporters on January 6.
At the time, Twitter assessed two tweets sent by Trump after the Capitol attack as “highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021”, the company said in a statement. Plans for “future armed protests” were at the time spreading on Twitter and elsewhere, the company warned.
Samantha Lock
Some free speech advocates have agreed with Meta, saying it is appropriate for the public to have access to messaging from political candidates.
Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and a former American Civil Liberties Union official, defended the reinstatement. He had previously endorsed the company’s decision to suspend Trump’s account.
“This is the right call – not because the former president has any right to be on the platform but because the public has an interest in hearing directly from candidates for political office,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It’s better if the major social media platforms err on the side of leaving speech up, even if the speech is offensive or false, so that it can be addressed by other users and other institutions.”
American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony Romero said Meta was making “the right call” by allowing Trump back on to the social network.
“Like it or not, President Trump is one of the country’s leading political figures and the public has a strong interest in hearing his speech,” Romero said in a release.
The ACLU has filed more than 400 legal actions against Trump, according to Romero.
Trump has not indicated whether he will return to the platform but responded to the news with a short statement on Truth Social, saying that “such a thing should never happen again to a sitting president”.
You can read more of this report here.
Decision to allow Trump back on Facebook condemned as dangerous
Reactions to the decision by Meta to allow Donald Trump back on its Facebook and Instagram platforms is fierce.
The former US president was thrown off the platforms in relation to inflammatory posts about the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol as his extremist supporters tried (ultimately in vain) to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory over him.
Elon Musk allowed Trump back on Twitter, though has not tweeted since January 2021, and now Mark Zuckerberg’s social media giant has given Trump the green light there, too.
“Make no mistake – by allowing Donald Trump back on its platforms, Meta is refuelling Trump’s misinformation and extremism engine,” said Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of media watchdog Media Matters for America.
“When Trump is given a platform, it ratchets up the temperature on a landscape that is already simmering – one that will put us on a path to increased violence.”
Free Press Co-CEO Jessica J. González, described the announcement as a “cowardly and unethical decision” that “will cause incalculable harm”.
She urged Meta to reverse course and said Trump would only continue to use the company’s “powerful tools” to “spread lies and dangerous rhetoric, and incite violence targeted at disenfranchised communities and his ideological enemies”.
“Meta must bear full responsibility for any harm that results from today’s extremely reckless decision,” González said.
Last week we learned that the January 6th Select Committee found that Donald Trump’s social media posts helped incite an insurrection. They found that the threat of violence still exists today.
So what does Meta do? Reinstates him. This is peak greed.
— Jessica González (@JGo4Justice) January 25, 2023
She added:
There’s no claiming ignorance next time. Zuckerberg knows what the consequences are. He just doesn’t care.
— Jessica González (@JGo4Justice) January 25, 2023
Fury over decision to allow Trump back on Facebook
Good morning, US politics blog readers, we’re coming into a lively news day with colorful reactions to Meta’s move to allow former president Donald Trump back on Facebook despite his tendency to spread lies. And current president Joe Biden is revving up for a speech bashing Republicans over their expected hardball tactics on government spending that could affect everything from aid to Ukraine’s war effort to US social benefits money. Stick around.
Here’s what on the agenda so far:
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Mark Zuckerberg’s social media giant Meta has said it will allow Donald Trump back on its Facebook and Instagram platforms following a two-year ban over his online behavior concerning the insurrection by his extremist supporters on January 6 at the US Capitol.
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Several civil rights and online safety advocacy groups have slammed Meta’s decision as, variously, reckless and encouraging an increase in politics-fueled violence.
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Politicians and commentators are weighing in, some pleased, some accusing Facebook of “caving” and calling the move dangerous.
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Meta said Trump will be allowed to continue posting his claims that he didn’t lose the 2020 election to Biden but action will be taken if he casts doubt on the reliability of the 2024 presidential election, Meta told CNN.
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The US economy slowed but still grew at 2.9% rate last quarter, ending 2022 with momentum despite the pressure of high interest rates and widespread fears of a looming recession, latest gross domestic product (GDP) stats show.
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Joe Biden is heading to Springfield, Virginia, this afternoon and will give remarks at a union office about the economy.
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The US president is expected to condemn the Republicans, in the shape of their narrow majority in House, for signaling they are serious about a showdown/staring contest over the administrations efforts to increase the debt ceiling, by bargaining with aces like blocking further aid to Ukraine and demanding cuts in social security and Medicare.
