Twitter Hearing Devolves Into 6-Way Shouting Match as Democrats Demand Matt Taibbi Expose Elon Musk as ‘Direct Source’

The House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Twitter devolved into a nasty, 6-way shouting match when Texas Democrat and committee member Rep. Sylvia Garcia insisted that journalist Matt Taibbi out Elon Musk as the reporter’s original “direct source.”

It started when Garcia asked, “what was the first time that Mr. Musk approach you about writing the Twitter Files?”

As Taibbi began to answer, Garcia added, “I just need a date, sir.”

“But I can’t give it to you, unfortunately,” Taibbi said, “because this is a question of sourcing and I don’t give up, I’m a journalist. I don’t reveal my sources.”

The two debated whether it was a question of “chronology’ or “sourcing,” leading to Garcia saying, “So you’re not going to tell us when Musk first approached you?”

“Again, Congresswoman, you’re asking me to re– You’re asking a journalist to reveal a source–,” Taibbi began answering again.

“So then you consider Mr. Musk to be the direct source of all of this,” Garcia interrupted to say.

“No, now you’re – you’re trying to get me to say that he is the source,” said Taibbi.

“Well either he is or he isn’t,” said Garcia. She then dubiously asserted that by not stating Elon Musk is the source Taibbi was admitting Elon Musk was the source, and that argument began in earnest.

At that point Republican committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan, Democrat and earlier Taibbi-trasher Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, ranking Democrat Rep. Stacey Plaskett, and one or maybe two more voices joined in the debate.

Eventually, Garcia insisted on being permitted to reclaim the time lost, and Jordan sarcastically granted her back “that 10 seconds,” and the questioning about why anyone would report on the Twitter Files — but not the content of them — continued.

Watch the clip above, via C-SPAN.