MSNBC’s Chris Hayes played a montage of fiery exchanges from Thursday’s House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
The panel is a subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) chairing both. Jordan is seeking to show the federal government has persecuted conservatives. One focal point of the committee is a set of meetings between the FBI and Twitter executives ahead of the 2020 election. In some of those meetings, agents flagged content they felt was likely part of Russian disinformation campaigns, such as the Hunter Biden laptop story, which turned out to be true.
Jordan and other Republicans have tried to cast the FBI’s motives as nefarious and have suggested the bureau leaned on Twitter into censoring certain stories and accounts belonging to conservatives. The chairman has called several former FBI agents to testify as “whistleblowers,” even as their credibility has been called into question by critics.
Hayes played a handful of contentious clips from Thursday’s hearing before moving on to Jordan’s clashes with ranking member, Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI).
“The whole debacle lasted about three hours,” Hayes said before airing the montage. “The committee’s vice chair quickly lost patience with the chairman’s theatrics.”
Jordan took issue with the fact that Plaskett asked witnesses Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger – two of the “Twitter files” reporters – if they had spoken with Twitter CEO Elon Musk about the material they received, which Musk is leaking to show the company was allegedly biased against conservatives before he bought it in October:
JORDAN: Frankly, I think they’re brave individuals for being willing to come after they’ve been named in a letter from the Biden FTC!
PLASKETT: Is this your question time now?
JORDAN: No, I’m responding to your ridiculous statement you made in your opening statement!
PLASKETT: Ok, well let’s get on with it.
JORDAN: Oh, now we wanna get on with it?! You can say all the things you want and I can say–
[CROSSTALK]
PLASKETT: I did have an opening statement, as well as you had an opening statement. You said what you needed to stay in your opening statement, and I, as the ranking member, have to used my time.
JORDAN: Without objection, all other opening statements will be included in the record.
[…]
JORDAN: The ranking member of the committee in the weaponization of government is asking for your sources!
PLASKETT: I never asked them for their sources.
JORDAN: Yes, you did!
PLASKETT: I did not ask for sources. I asked if they were talking to Elon Musk. And they said that they were not talking. You are not going to say I’ve asked for sources.
[…]
JORDAN: I wanna focus on the First Amendment, just like protecting the First Amendment just like these guys.
PLASKETT: Point of order, Mr. Chair. Are you gonna respond after everything?
JORDAN: No, I’m taking my five minutes.
PLASKETT: Oh, it’s your five minutes now?
JORDAN: I can take my five minutes when I want to and I’m taking my five minutes now.
PLASKETT: Ok, great. Thank you.
Last week Hayes interviewed Plaskett, who informed the MSNBC host another hearing about Twitter would be held today.
“Wait a second, wait a second – they’re doing another Twitter hearing?” he asked her on Friday’s All In.
“Yes,” she replied.
“My God,” Hayes exhorted.
Watch above via MSNBC.
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
For more latest TV News Click Here