THE AMAZON FILES – “feeling pressure from the White House”
Internal docs subpoenaed by @JudiciaryGOP & @Weaponization indicate that @amazon bowed down to Biden White House pressure to censor BOOKS.
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Never-before-released internal emails subpoenaed by @JudiciaryGOP reveal that the Biden White House pressured Amazon to censor books that expressed views the White House did not approve of.
“Is the [Biden] Admin asking us to remove books”?
Andy Slavitt—the senior Biden White House official who demanded that Facebook censor a meme and true information—was pressuring Amazon at the same time.
On March 2, 2021, Slavitt fired off an email demanding to know who he and his White House colleagues could talk to at the company about “the high levels of propaganda and misinformation and disinformation of [sic] Amazon?”
How did the Biden White House conclude that there was “propaganda and misinformation” in books sold in Amazon’s bookstore?
The White House ran keyword searches for controversial topics, such as “vaccine,” and emailed Amazon when it didn’t like how the search results appeared:
Initially, Amazon decided to hold off on “doing a manual intervention” to censor books.
Why? Not out of any commitment to free speech, but because doing so would be “too visible” to the American public and likely to spur criticism from conservative media.
Why was the Biden White House so upset with Amazon?
Because Amazon believed “retailers are different than social media communities” & provided their “customers with access to a variety of viewpoints.”
For the Biden Admin, letting Americans think for themselves was unacceptable.
A week later, on March 9, 2021, Amazon met with the White House.
Internal Amazon documents reveal Amazon’s “top talking points” going into the meeting.
One of the key questions was whether the Biden White House wanted books banned or just buried deep in the search results:
So how did Amazon’s meeting with the Biden White House go?
On March 2, 2021, Amazon determined internally that it would “not be doing a manual intervention today.”
The online bookstore set a meeting with senior Biden White House officials for March 9, 2021.
What was the purpose of this meeting with the Biden White House?
To see if “the Admin is asking us to remove books, or are they more concerned about search results/order (or both)?”
Why did Amazon agree to take this meeting? Because they were “feeling pressure from the White House”
After the White House spent a week berating Amazon, what did the online bookstore do?
Starting March 9—the same day as its meeting with the White House—Amazon enabled “Do Not Promote” for books that expressed the view that vaccines were not effective.
And that wasn’t all. Amazon also considered other ways “to reduce the visibility” of certain books that the Biden White House disliked.
That’s right.
Amazon caved to the pressure from the Biden White House to censor speech.
@JudiciaryGOP and @Weaponization are investigating.
THE AMAZON FILES PART 3 – AMAZON’S CENSORED BOOKS LIST
We knew that @Amazon censored books because of pressure from the Biden @WhiteHouse.
Now we know which books:
--Children’s Books
--Books for Parents
--Books critical of Big Pharma
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.@JudiciaryGOP and @Weaponization obtained internal Amazon documents showing that the urgent “impetus” for Amazon censoring books in March 2021 was “criticism from the Biden administration.”
To censor the books, Amazon created a “new [Do Not Promote] class for anti-vax books.”
Internal emails reveal that Amazon initially added 43 books to its newly created “Do Not Promote” class of allegedly anti-vaccine books.
These pro-censorship changes were being made “due to criticism from the Biden people.”
Before finalizing a new content moderation policy proposal, YouTube asked the Biden White House to review and for their “feedback.”
🧵 Thread:
.@JudiciaryGOP and @Weaponization obtained internal Google docs revealing the Biden White House’s pressure campaign against YouTube.
As revealed in the YouTube Files, the company was concerned things could “spiral out of control” and wanted to stay on good terms with the White House because they were seeking “to work closely with [the Biden] administration on multiple policy fronts.”
“The impetus for this request is criticism from the Biden Administration about sensitive books we’re giving prominent placement to, and should be handled urgently.”
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In Amazon Files Part 1, we saw that Amazon had to prep talking points in March 2021 about whether the Biden Admin was asking the company to remove books.
On March 2, 2021, the Biden White House began its pressure campaign.
President Biden’s policies have ensured that most illegal aliens can remain in the country indefinitely—even after those illegal aliens have 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞.
In fact, instead of ensuring that criminal illegal aliens can be quickly removed from the United States, President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas have made it 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 for ICE officers to arrest criminals.
🧵 THREAD:
In September 2021, Secretary Mayorkas issued a memo entitled “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law.”
The training materials for the “Mayorkas Memo,” which were obtained by @JudiciaryGOP, reveal the absurdity of the Administration's "enforcement priorities."
The materials include a laundry list of "mitigating factors" for an ICE officer to consider before arresting or removing an illegal alien, including:
-An illegal alien's age and length of presence in the United States;
-"[A] mental condition that may have contributed to the criminal conduct, or a physical or mental condition requiring care or treatment";
-"[I]mpact of removal on family in the United States, such as loss of provider or caregiver";
-"[W]hether the [alien] may be eligible for humanitarian protection or other immigration relief"; and
-"[T]ime since an offense and evidence of rehabilitation."
Secretary Mayorkas is currently BLOCKING the release of information related to several criminal illegal aliens.
Info we are seeking: when the illegal alien crossed the border, why they were released, criminal history, etc.
Who are the people that he’s covering for?
🧵 THREAD:
2. Daniel Hernandez-Martinez
On October 30, 2023, @JudiciaryGOP requested information about Martinez, a Venezuelan national, who allegedly “randomly attacked at least three strangers and two cops and [was] arrested—and released—six times on 14 different charges” within just two months of his arrival in New York City.
Roberto Emilio Vasquez-Santamaria.
On October 30, 2023, the Committee requested information about Vasquez-Santamaria, a national of Peru, following reports that Texas Rangers arrested the alien for an alleged murder. Vasquez-Santamaria is accused of “bludgeon[ing] [the victim] to death in the backyard of a home.”