Harris sends letter to Twitter CEO doubling down on call to suspend Trump account

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is escalating her effort to suspend President Trump’s Twitter account.

The 2020 presidential candidate on Tuesday sent a formal letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey calling for him to take action on the issue, arguing that the president’s Twitter feed has been used to “target, harass, and attempt to out the whistleblower” responsible for a complaint regarding Trump’s interactions with Ukraine. 

{mosads}The letter points to a series of posts from Trump that Harris claims violates Twitter’s community rules on targeted harassment. The California senator highlights tweets in which Trump suggested the whistleblower was a “spy” and demanded a meeting with the unidentified figure. 

“Trump also published the following tweet suggesting that violence could be incited should Congress issue formal articles of impeachment against him,” Harris wrote, before citing a tweet Trump promoted that warned that a successful impeachment of him would lead to “a Civil War like fracture” in the U.S. 

In addition, Harris takes strong issue with Trump’s descriptions of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Among other things, Trump has suggested that Schiff be arrested for treason for exaggerating portions of his phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

“These are blatant threats,” Harris wrote. “We need a civil society, not a civil war. 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.”

An official from Twitter told The Hill that the company received the letter and intends to respond.

Harris has been increasingly outspoken in her call for Twitter to suspend Trump’s account in recent days. Her advocacy for the punishment comes as the president faces mounting scrutiny over a whistleblower complaint that accuses him of a broad effort to pressure Ukraine into investigating 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son. 

The revelations led Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to announce a formal impeachment inquiry. After Trump derided the inquiry as a “coup” on Tuesday night, Harris tweeted, “Hey, @jack. Time to do something about this.”

Hey, @jack. Time to do something about this. https://t.co/es2fJ5PNRV

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 2, 2019

“We have to also agree that when the president of the United States speaks, her words are very powerful, and should be used in a way that is not about belittling, much less harming anyone. And this president has I think never fully appreciated that responsibility,” Harris said on CNN on Monday. 

“If he’s not going to exercise self restraint, then perhaps there should be other mechanisms in place to make sure his words don’t harm anyone,” she said.

Twitter announced in June that some tweets from political figures that violated its rules would remain on the platform if they were considered to be in the public’s interest. The company said that tweets that fit this category would include a notice providing context and clarity regarding the post. 

None of Trump’s tweets have been given this classification, CNN reported.