The Federal Election Commission found Twitter did not violate election laws when the platform restricted access to a New York Post article about President Joe Biden‘s son, Hunter Biden.
The commission’s ruling was reportedly decided last month and will soon be made public, according to a readout of the decision obtained by the New York Times. The FEC declined to comment to the Washington Examiner.
Twitter initially said it restricted links to the article in October because the content violated its rules against the distribution of hacked materials. The company reversed its decision days later and said it would change its policy.
The Republican National Committee filed a complaint with the FEC on Oct. 16, alleging Twitter violated elections law. The complaint accused the platform of making “illegal, corporate in-kind contributions” to the Biden campaign by blocking links to the articles.
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The FEC maintained in its decision that Twitter’s move was for a “valid commercial reason, not a political purpose,” according to the New York Times, pointing to a document that outlined the regulator’s decision. When an enforcement matter is resolved, the FEC has 30 days to publish the related documents to its webpage.
Additionally, the FEC said Twitter “credibly explained” its decision to limit the article’s reach was in coordination with its policies at the time on hacked materials.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey explained in October that “our team made a fast decision on the enforcement action over blocking URLs, both in tweets and in direct messages,” Dorsey said. “We believe that was incorrect, and we changed it.”
The owner of a computer repair shop in Delaware purportedly obtained the laptop from Hunter Biden, according to documents he provided. The president’s son never returned to pick up the device, and it was turned over to the FBI. The repair shop owner, John Paul MacIsaac, later filed a lawsuit against Twitter over the “hacked materials” claim.
Former President Donald Trump’s ally Rudy Giuliani obtained the contents, reportedly including photos of Hunter Biden taking drugs. The laptops include emails Republicans claim show business plans centered on using Joe Biden, the former vice president, to leverage deals.
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The Washington Examiner contacted the RNC and Twitter but did not immediately receive a response.
