Corbett subpoenas Twitter for critics' names
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Corbett subpoenas Twitter for critics' names
State Attorney General Tom Corbett wants to know who's saying bad things about him in fewer than 140 characters:
[Corbett] subpoenaed Twitter, asking that it hand over the “name, address, contact information, creation date, creation Internet Protocol address and any and all log in Internet Protocol address” associated with two Twitter accounts, @bfbarbie and @casablancaPA, which have only 68 and 123 followers, respectively [as of Wednesday night, 124 and 206].
Both accounts have posted Tweets critical of the gubernatorial candidate. Are they enough to warrant subpoenas to discover their identities? Some items have claimed Corbett mixes campaign work with taxpayer business. Recent examples:
@casablancapa: “Is it wrong to mix campaign work with taxpayer business? Apparently not when Tom Corbett does it #bonusgate #pagovrace”
@casablancapa: Corbett: it's unethical to investigate political supporters. But only for other prosecutors. http://tiny.cc/quo10 #bonusgate @pagovrace
@bfbarbie: Corbett erupts at campaign event; security tries to eject questioner http://bit.ly/caIR44 #bonusgate can you say LOSER????
The "casablancapa" account is tied to a pseudonymous blog critical of Corbett, which posts a lot of detail about Bonusgate. The Tweeter tells TechCrunch: "We believe this is more about the blog than the Tweets. We have not received notification of a subpoena to Blogger, so we really don’t know. We are seeking legal representation and plan to ask Twitter not to comply."
You can read the subpoena below (as posted here). It demands the information because of "alleged violations of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
Whether and when it's OK for a court to order the release of an anonymous online poster's identity is still a developing area of the law. But we wonder if this benefits Corbett in any case. If he's successful, the best-case scenario is that he will have the names of two people who don't think he should be governor. Two people with a combined audience of fewer than 400 people (a number that Corbett himself has vastly inflated by issuing a subpoena).
There are millions of people who don't think he should be governor — and millions who think he should. Is there something special about these two? We might find out.
UPDATE: The story has taken a new twist, with the Post-Gazette reporting that Corbett's office believes CasablancaPA is being run by Brett Cott, a former legislative aide just convicted in the unfolding Bonusgate scandal. In court filings, two assistant attorneys general argue the blog demonstrates that Cott is deflecting blame and denying responsibility for the crimes of which he's been convicted. They are seeking a longer-than-normal sentence and basing their argument on that.
Corbett spokesman Kevin Harley told Politico that the attorney general didn't issue the subpoena because the Twitter users have been critical of Corbett and said it was issued as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. But he declined to go into further detail.
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union has thrown itself into the fray, saying it will move to quash the subpoena if it can't reach a negotiated settlement with Corbett. And Allegheny County executive Dan Onorato, who will face Corbett in the fall gubernatorial election, has accused him of misusing his office.
Comment removed.
Citizenc92 - Show me one case where a Democrat has done this type of idiocy. What is it with you people and reality? Too difficult for pea brains to comprehend?— Malachy- Comment removed.
Considering no death threats were involved, and no government secrets revealed, this is that pesky thing called "Free Speech." Good job Corbett, you lost my vote. I'd vote for a naked mole rat first. (Wait, am I going to be subpoened now? Heh.— verve- Citizenc92...if you dont like the leftist Philadelphia Inquirer, why do you read it? And, how about an example of a democrats "do this all the time"— tdoc
- I don't think a PA court or grand jury can compel anyone from out of state to appear in PA.— MikeOHara
Odorato smells but Corbett will not get my vote. He has now demonstrated at least three qualities that do not make for a good governor: thin skin; willingness to violate civil rights; abuse of authority/position; and stupidity on two counts: 1) failing to realize this action would increase blog readership and 2) thinking that the public would consider an appropriate act. Lets add a third act of stupidity: he is demonstrating just how far the repubelican party is willing to go to stifle expression of personal opinion. What's next? subpoena philly.com records on all the commenters who think Corbett is lower than whale s**t?— nebulus- PA Republican party please be very afraid. This kind of stuff can backfire and make loyal republicans vote for Onorato out of fear that as governor Corbett will cast himself as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.— nebulus
- Typical Republican hypocrisy, espouse smaller government, but insert government into all aspects of every day American life. Free speech is one of the things Repubes hate.— UCityGardener
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- This guy needs to be impeached and booted from office. He's not only unfit to be Attorney General and Govenor, he's unfit to be an american.— MikeP
- Comment removed.
- Abuse. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."— manyhats
- I'm a Republican and I think this is a big mistake.— ALJ
