Attorney General Tom Corbett Subpoenaes Twitter To Identify Anonymous Critics

IRHari

IRHari

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Tom Corbett, current Attorney General of the state of Pennsylvania and Gubernatorial Candidate, has subpoenaed Twitter to appear as a Grand Jury witness to “testify and give evidence regarding alleged violations of the laws of Pennsylvania”. The subpoena orders Twitter to provide “any and all subscriber information” of the person(s) behind two accounts – @bfbarbie and @CasaBlancaPA – who have been anonymously criticizing the man on the popular micro-sharing service.
According to the subpoena (embedded below), the information that Twitter is ordered to provide includes “name, address, contact information, creation date, creation Internet Protocol address and any and all log in Internet Protocol address”.
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For those who are not outraged by this guys behavior. Let's change the story a little bit:

Eric Holder & Obama subpoena Twitter to identify Anonymous Critics
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And here...we...
herewego.jpg
 
Are the allegations libelous in nature?

If they're true, then shame on Corbett.
If they're false, then bravo for Corbett.

Freedom of speech doesn't mean I get to hide behind a mask and say false things about people I don't like. Hope these Twitter users have proof of what they're saying.
 
There's a much higher standard for public figures Bob.

But you're right. Hope those teabaggers calling Obama the antichrist have proof of what they're saying.
 
The dumb thing is the two Twitter accounts have followers of roughly 900 followers (although, CasablancaPA acknowledges they had 500 fewer before the subpoena, and the other likely has less before as well). If he just ignored this, most voters in PA would have absolutely no idea the comments that have him so riled up exist. By letting his ego get the best of him, he's made it into a national story, making himself look incredibly petty in the meanwhile, not to mention all the legal implications.
 
[quote name='UncleBob']
Freedom of speech doesn't mean I get to hide behind a mask and say false things about people I don't like. [/QUOTE]

It should. I always believe freedom of speech should include ALL forms of speech. Yes, I know the law doesn't see it that way, but I never saw a good argument for why libel should be banned. Mayhaps you have one? :3
 
[quote name='IRHari']There's a much higher standard for public figures Bob.

But you're right. Hope those teabaggers calling Obama the antichrist have proof of what they're saying.[/QUOTE]

'meh, what do I know? I don't hide behind fake names on the internet... Someone has a problem with what I say, my contact information is readily available.
 
[quote name='UncleBob']Are the allegations libelous in nature?

If they're true, then shame on Corbett.
If they're false, then bravo for Corbett.

Freedom of speech doesn't mean I get to hide behind a mask and say false things about people I don't like. Hope these Twitter users have proof of what they're saying.[/QUOTE]

They don't have to have proof of what they're saying. However, they can't make knowingly false statements intended to defame someone. It's a pretty high burden for proving they violated the law.
 
I'm trying to figure out how many more holes Republicans can drill into the corpse of Reality in order to shitrape it some more.
 
[quote name='elprincipe']They don't have to have proof of what they're saying. However, they can't make knowingly false statements intended to defame someone. It's a pretty high burden for proving they violated the law.[/QUOTE]

They can if they're just talking to their circle of 900 "friends".

It's one thing if they went on television and knowingly said false statements to discredit someone. It's another thing to say "And then there's THIS asshole..." to everyone in your backyard. Then, of course, there's the burden of proving it did any actual harm to the "victim".


From the ACLU website:

While we are pleased that the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office has withdrawn the subpoena to Twitter for identity information on our clients, Twitter account holders bfbarbie and CasablancaPA, the ACLU maintains grave concerns about the AG's handling of this affair.

The AG's Office has now confirmed that the information requested by the grand jury subpoena was to be used in connection with today's sentencing of "Bonusgate" defendant Brett Cott. Two troubling conclusions flow from this admission.

First, this subpoena to Twitter was a serious abuse of the grand jury process. Under Pennsylvania law, investigating grand juries "have the power to inquire into offenses against the criminal laws of the Commonwealth." See, 45 P.S. § 4548. Obviously, gathering evidence for sentencing is beyond the scope of that authority. More troubling is the contention by the Attorney General's Office lawyers that they "do this all the time" and that there was nothing wrong with what they did. The ACLU calls on the attorney general to state publicly that his office will immediately stop misusing the grand jury to gather evidence beyond the scope of its statutory authority.
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http://www.aclupa.org/pressroom/aclupasaysattorneygenerals.htm
 
[quote name='Strell']I'm trying to figure out how many more holes Republicans can drill into the corpse of Reality in order to shitrape it some more.[/QUOTE]

It is a phrase on another site I go to but apparently there is really no such thing as peak wingnut. Nothing that can make these guys sit back and say "Whoa do I actually believe this shit?".
 
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