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California Senator Kamala Harris is again formally asking Twitter to suspend President Donald Trump’s controversial Twitter account, but the social media platform may be reluctant to do so.
In a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, the Democratic presidential candidate wrote on her campaign letterhead that the president’s constant tweets attacking the whistleblower that ignited an impeachment inquiry violates Twitter’s user agreement rules.
Harris points out several tweets in the past week that appear to “target, harass, and attempt to out the whistleblower who set forth credible allegations that the President has abused his power by urging a foreign government to investigate a domestic political rival.”
On Tuesday, Trump tweeted, “So if the so-called ‘Whistleblower’ has all second hand information, and almost everything he has said about my “perfect” call with the Ukrainian President is wrong (much to the embarrassment of Pelosi & Schiff), why aren’t we entitled to interview & learn everything about the Whistleblower, and also the person who gave all of the false information to him. This is simply about a phone conversation that could not have been nicer, warmer, or better. No pressure at all (as confirmed by Ukrainian Pres.). It is just another Democrat Hoax!”
But Harris might have a tough road trying to stop Trump from tweeting. Twitter said in a January 2018 blog post that “Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial Tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate.”
Also, Twitter said in a June blog post that “Serving the public conversation includes providing the ability for anyone to talk about what matters to them. With this in mind, there are certain cases where it may be in the public’s interest to have access to certain Tweets, even if they would otherwise be in violation of our rules.”
On Harris’ Twitter account, a pinned tweet posted Monday said: “Look let’s be honest, @realDonaldTrump‘s Twitter account should be suspended.”
Harris’ letter also cited tweets in which Trump said the whistleblower is either a “leaker or spy” or a “partisan operative,” calling for the whistleblower to come forward. She also wrote that one of Trump’s tweets said the whistleblower “may have committed treason, and further implied that the punishment for that should be death.”
Furthermore, Harris wrote, Trump should be punished for tweeting a comment from Pastor Robert Jeffress on September 29 for “suggesting that violence could be incited should Congress issue formal articles of impeachment against him.”
“….If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal,” Trump tweeted.
“These are blatant threats. We need a civil society, not a civil war,” Harris wrote. “These tweets represent a clear intent to baselessly discredit the whistleblower and officials in our government who are following the proper channels to report allegations of presidential impropriety, all while making blatant threats that put people at risk and our democracy in danger.”
Harris said Twitter has suspended other controversial Twitter accounts, including InfoWars host Alex Jones and actor James Woods. She said in Trump’s case, “there is plenty of evidence” to suggest Trump “is irresponsible with his words in a way that could result in harm” to people.
“Others have had their accounts suspended for less offensive behavior,” she said. “And when this kind of abuse is being spewed from the most powerful office in the United States, the stakes are too high to do nothing.
“No user, regardless of their job, wealth, or stature, should be exempt from abiding by Twitter’s user agreement, not even the President of the United States.”
Twitter has not responded to Fortune‘s request for comment.
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