Khanna: I Stand By My Statements in Twitter Files, More Dems Should Stand Up Against Censorship

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) stood by his concerns expressed in disclosures over Twitter’s handling of the Hunter Biden story and stated that “liberal Democrats should be for the principle of standing up for First Amendment speech.” And “I do hope more Democrats will stand up for the broader principle” of wanting “forums that don’t have censorship, that allow for all perspectives.”

Khanna said, “Erin, what surprised me is that Twitter made the decision in the first place to censor. Look, liberal Democrats should be for the principle of standing up for First Amendment speech. And New York Times [vs.] Sullivan said, we want speech to be open, uninhibited, wide-ranging. Now, I get Twitter’s a private actor, but they’re effectively a modern public square. And it was disappointing to me that they were suppressing The New York Post.”

He added, “Well, look, we’ve all written emails, and I’m glad that they released that one. I’m sure I’ve written things that aren’t as thoughtful. But when I read it, I said, I stand by every word. I got into politics partly because I believe American democracy is great when we have everyone have a voice to stand up and participate in speech. And I do hope more Democrats will stand up for the broader principle, which is we want to be — have forums that don’t have censorship, that allow for all perspectives.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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