• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, July 12, 2022

A former Twitter employee testified Tuesday to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that the company “relished” former President Donald Trump's presence on the platform -- despite some employees' concerns that Trump was using Twitter to communicate directly with extremists.

“I believe that Twitter relished in the knowledge that they were also the favorite and most used service of the former president, and enjoyed having that sort of power within the social media ecosystem,” the ex-employee testified. The former worker testified anonymously and his or her voice was disguised.

Twitter locked Trump out of his account on January 6, hours after his supporters rioted at the Capitol. Two days later, Twitter permanently banned Trump.

The former employee, who was part of Twitter's content moderation team in 2020 and 2021, said the team considered revising its approach after Trump made the comment, “Proud Boys -- stand back and stand by,” during a September 2020 debate with Biden.

That remark came after moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump whether he would condemn white supremacists. Trump asked for a specific example, and Biden offered the Proud Boys.

The former Twitter employee said Trump's comment sparked unease, noting that it appeared to mark the first time Trump “was speaking directly to extremist organizations and giving them directives.”

The ex-employee added: “We had not seen that sort of direct communication before, and that conerned me.”

The witness also said that the responses on Twitter that autumn to Trump's tweets raised worries.

“It felt as if a mob was being organized,” the former Twitter worker said.

The witness added that anyone other than Trump “would have been permanently suspended a very long time ago.”

Last year, Trump sued Twitter over the account ban, alleging that the ban violated the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge James Donato in the Northern District of California dismissed Trump's lawsuit in May, ruling that only the government -- not private companies like Twitter -- are bound by the First Amendment's prohibition on censorship.

Trump is appealing that ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.