Twitter OK with anti-Trump Lincoln Project publishing private messages of ex-member
Social media giant claims tweets were not a violation of rules or hacked material policy
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Lincoln Project is facing intense backlash and potentially major legal trouble after the embattled anti-Trump group tweeted screenshots of private direct messages belonging to one of its co-founders – but Twitter doesn’t seem to mind.
Jennifer Horn, who left the Lincoln Project last week amid the John Weaver scandal, has had a public spat with the anti-Trump group ever since her departure. But the Lincoln Project escalated tensions on Thursday night with tweets that appeared to be an exchange she had with 19th News correspondent Amanda Becker.
NEW REPORT ALLEGES LINCOLN PROJECT FOUNDERS WERE 'WARNED' ABOUT JOHN WEAVER'S PREDATORY BEHAVIOR
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lincoln Project co-founders Steve Schmidt, Rick Wilson, George Conway and John Weaver.
"Earlier this evening, we became aware that @AmandaBecker of @19thnews was preparing to publish a smear job on the Lincoln Project with the help of @NHJennifer," the Lincoln Project began a lengthy thread. "You hear a lot of talk about hit-jobs in journalism, but rarely do you get to see their origin story. Enjoy."
The tweets drew immediate condemnation, including by one of its co-founders, conservative attorney George Conway.
"This looks on its face to be a violation of federal law and should be taken down immediately," Conway -- who left the group last year -- warned.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Horn herself later reacted to the controversy, alerting Twitter that the Lincoln Project did not have permission to publish her private messages. "Hey @Twitter @jack @TwitterSupport I did not give consent," Horn wrote.
It is unclear how the Lincoln Project obtained screenshots of Horn's private messages or how, if it did, the group gained access to Horn's Twitter account. The messages were eventually deleted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Lincoln Project did not respond to Fox News' multiple inquiries, including why it chose to delete the Twitter thread and its responses to Horn and Conway's reactions.
Twitter declared that the tweets were just fine as far as the social media platform is concerned.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The Tweets referenced are currently not in violation of the Twitter Rules," a spokesperson told Fox News, noting that the tweets are not considered to be a violation of Twitter’s hacked materials policy and they are not in violation of its private information policy.
While Twitter seems to have sided with the anti-Trump group, the decision conjures memories of the social media platform’s controversial decision to censor a damning story about Hunter Biden ahead of the 2020 election, when the company cited the very same "hacked content" policy as the cause of the blackout.