Tense moment at Twitter Files hearing: Democrat pressed Matt Taibbi to reveal his sources

There was a tense moment this Thursday at the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Twitter Files, when journalist Matt Taibbi was pressured by one of the Democratic representatives to reveal one of his sources.

The writer and journalist who published several illuminating installments of the Twitter Files was testifying when the issue of the sources of the information he revealed about the internal communications of Elon Musk's social network came up. Texas Democratic Representative Sylvia Garcia was the one who asked Taibbi directly about it. The journalist explained that he could not give those details. However, the Democrat was so insistent that she was even accused of harassing Taibbi.

"I can’t give it to you, unfortunately, because this is a question of sourcing, and I’m a journalist. I don’t reveal my sources," Taibbi told him. Garcia stated that for her it was not about the source, but about the chronology. The journalist again refused to provide this information, but the Democrat continued to insist.

"You earlier said that someone had sent you through the internet, some message about whether or not you would be interested in some information," Sylvia Garcia said. "Yes, and I referred to that person as a source," Matt Taibbi replied. "So you’re not going to tell us when Musk first approached you?," the Democratic representative said, to which the reporter explained that once again the congresswoman was trying to get him to reveal his sources and that he wouldn't do that.

During the hearing Garcia went so far as to ask Taibbi if he considered Elon Musk to be the direct source of all the information he published and later added that this was the "only logical conclusion."

The journalist showed that he was amused by the representative's comment and replied that she was not going to succeed in making him say that Musk was his source and that she was "free to conclude" whatever she wanted.

Republicans had to intervene at the Democrat's insistence and explained that it was already clear that Taibbi would not reveal his source and that pressure to do so was a violation of the First Amendment.