The Twitter account of Michael Flynn’s lead attorney was partially suspended for promoting the controversial antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment.
Sidney Powell, a former federal prosecutor who is representing President Trump’s former national security adviser in the government’s case against him, tweeted on Monday that the drug should be “available over the counter” and that it would “prevent and stop it for next to nothing.” Her account became “temporarily limited” shortly after because the platform said that the tweet violated the company’s rules on “spreading misleading and potentially harmful misinformation” related to the coronavirus.
A Twitter spokesperson said that the account was not suspended, which is how Jenna Ellis, a lawyer for Trump’s reelection campaign, broke the news, but that “some” account features would be limited for 12 hours because of the rule violation.
Powell confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that her account was partially suspended.
“Needless to say, that is an outrage,” she told the Washington Examiner. “Twitter should not be deciding what information is allowed. My tweet was based on information from numerous doctors. Congress must revoke the protections afforded these tech titans who must be required to allow free speech. CNN and others are pushing pure propaganda against hydroxychloroquine. It’s really astonishing to see such censorship against the president and others in what is supposed to be a free society.”
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, was hit with the same penalty from Twitter for posting a video that also promoted hydroxychloroquine.
The president, his administration, and many conservatives have repeatedly touted hydroxychloroquine, which has, at times, provided doctors with optimism in treating COVID-19 patients.
But public officials and media pundits have been highly critical of the hydroxychloroquine’s use during the pandemic because of a dearth of evidence that it has the ability to combat or ward off the coronavirus. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, told ABC on Tuesday that the “overwhelming prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in coronavirus disease.”
The Food and Drug Administration rescinded emergency use authorizations for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in June. Just three months prior, the FDA had granted emergency use authorizations for the drugs to be used in hospital settings as Trump touted the drug. The FDA was then scrutinized for bowing to political pressure from the Trump administration to approve the drugs to treat the coronavirus.
