Link at end of comment to full written statement of James A. Baker, who is scheduled to testify at 10:00 AM EST on Wednesday, 8 February 2023 before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A.Baker(government_attorney)
Link below to Oversight and Accountability Committee meeting starting at 10:00 AM EST on 8 February 2023 (sometimes the hearings start a little late... stay with it)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fo_yD8r3w4
Some highlights from the written testimony of James A. Baker that I ran through the Yandex translation tool - Lawyer to English setting.
Statement:
"My main goals in this statement are to attempt to set the record straight with respect to certain false assertions that have been made about me in the public arena and to offer a suggestion regarding potential legislation in the area of social media regulation."
Translation:
"My main goals are to cover my ass by making bigger lies than I already have to deflect from what everyone knows is true and to tell you without admitting to any crime how I broke the law."
Statement:
"As the Committee is aware, however, based on the advice of counsel I believe in good faith that I am constrained today by my legal and ethical obligations as a former lawyer for Twitter as well as by certain non-disclosure agreements. Within those constraints, however, I will endeavor to respond to the Committee’s questions as fully as I can."
Translation:
"You know, I know, you know, however, I lawyered up long ago, and you know, that I know, that you know, I will not say anything substantive and, because I have a law degree, can sit here speaking for hours and say absolutely nothing and I have protected myself in advance by signing non-disclosure agreements that allow me to hide behind legal technicalities until hell freezes over. So, if you really want to waste your time I can and will accommodate you for as long as it takes."
Statement:
"And I believe that I can make the following statements."
Translation:
"Squirrel!"
Statement:
"First... To be clear, I did not act unlawfully or otherwise inappropriately in any manner with respect to Hunter Biden’s laptop computer."
Translation:
https://youtu.be/TM8EXwemnYA?t=7 (30 seconds)
Statement:
"Second, I believe that at all times I executed my duties and responsibilities to my client –Twitter– lawfully and ethically. At no time was I an agent or operative of the government or any political actor when I worked at Twitter. To the contrary, I believe that I worked zealously and diligently within the bounds of the law in pursuit of my client’s best interests."
Translation:
"Second, I was paid a lot of money providing Twitter with bogus legal cover to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story in collaboration with government officials in the Executive Branch to include Jen Psaki at the White House. You are not going to be able to pin anything on me because I worked zealously and diligently to cover my tracks and have already moved the majority of all my liquid assets into secret off-shore accounts in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. So. even if you could pin anything on me I can flee the country well ahead of any attempt to bring me to justice."
Statement:
"Third, I did not destroy or improperly suppress any documents at Twitter regarding information important to the public dialogue. At all times I sought to help my client understand and comply with its legal obligations. It is worth noting that the public record indicates that after I left the company, attorneys or other unidentified third parties collected and/or reviewed the contents of at least some the Twitter Files prior to their release."
Translation:
"You are not going to find anything in my garage." 😛
Statement:
"Fourth, Twitter disclosed publicly emails between me and Yoel Roth regarding one of Donald Trump’s Tweets about COVID. I do not have access to my Twitter emails, so I don’t know if or how I responded to Mr. Roth. To the best of my recollection, I do not recall directing or urging him to take action on Mr. Trump’s Tweet. Instead, what I recall is that I asked him a question so that I could better understand how he and others were implementing Twitter’s COVID misinformation policy. Asking questions and learning more about a client’s activities is what I think good lawyers should do. And, again, hardly surprising."
Translation:
"On advice of counsel, I don't know if I don't know or if I don't recall. If, in the instance when I don't recall, I don't know if I remember recalling or if I remember not recalling if I remember. In any event, it was out of my purview because I think good lawyers should recall asking questions then not recalling the answers to best serve the interests of their clients."
Statement:
"As you, Mr. Jordan, and others have proposed, a potentially workable way to legislate in this area may be to focus on the actions of federal government agencies and officials with respect to their engagement with the private sector. Congress might be able to limit the nature and scope of those interactions in certain ways, require enhanced transparency and reporting by the executive branch about its engagements, and require higher level approvals within the executive branch prior to engagements on certain topics so that you could hold Senate-confirmed officials accountable for their decisions. In any event, if you want to legislate, my recommendation is to focus first on reasonable and effective limitations on governmental actors."
Translation:
"You couldn't prove I was connected with the FISA abuse and unwarranted surveillance of Carter Page... and I got out of the DOJ with my full pension. As I stated earlier, all the money I got from Twitter and then some is already out of the country so, again, you really can't hurt me in the long run. And if you did get close, I'll flip and sing for full immunity. Better than a get out of jail card. You "can" have your cake and eat it too."
Statement:
"Thank you."
Translation:
"Mr. Jordan, who do I see about getting my parking ticket validated?"
Full statement of James A. Baker
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO00/20230208/115286/HHRG-118-GO00-Wstate-BakerJ-20230208.pdf
Link at end of comment to full written statement of James A. Baker, who is scheduled to testify at 10:00 AM EST on Wednesday, 8 February 2023 before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A.Baker(government_attorney)
Link below to Oversight and Accountability Committee meeting starting at 10:00 AM EST on 8 February 2023 (sometimes the hearings start a little late... stay with it)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fo_yD8r3w4
Some highlights from the written testimony of James A. Baker that I ran through the Yandex translation tool - Lawyer to English setting.
Statement:
"My main goals in this statement are to attempt to set the record straight with respect to certain false assertions that have been made about me in the public arena and to offer a suggestion regarding potential legislation in the area of social media regulation."
Translation:
"My main goals are to cover my ass by making bigger lies than I already have to deflect from what everyone knows is true and to tell you without admitting to any crime how I broke the law."
Statement:
"As the Committee is aware, however, based on the advice of counsel I believe in good faith that I am constrained today by my legal and ethical obligations as a former lawyer for Twitter as well as by certain non-disclosure agreements. Within those constraints, however, I will endeavor to respond to the Committee’s questions as fully as I can."
Translation:
"You know, I know, you know, however, I lawyered up long ago, and you know, that I know, that you know, I will not say anything substantive and, because I have a law degree, can sit here speaking for hours and say absolutely nothing and I have protected myself in advance by signing non-disclosure agreements that allow me to hide behind legal technicalities until hell freezes over. So, if you really want to waste your time I can and will accommodate you for as long as it takes."
Statement:
"And I believe that I can make the following statements."
Translation:
"Squirrel!"
Statement:
"First... To be clear, I did not act unlawfully or otherwise inappropriately in any manner with respect to Hunter Biden’s laptop computer."
Translation:
https://youtu.be/TM8EXwemnYA?t=7 (30 seconds)
Statement:
"Second, I believe that at all times I executed my duties and responsibilities to my client –Twitter– lawfully and ethically. At no time was I an agent or operative of the government or any political actor when I worked at Twitter. To the contrary, I believe that I worked zealously and diligently within the bounds of the law in pursuit of my client’s best interests."
Translation:
"Second, I was paid a lot of money providing Twitter with bogus legal cover to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story in collaboration with government officials in the Executive Branch to include Jen Psaki at the White House. You are not going to be able to pin anything on me because I worked zealously and diligently to cover my tracks and have already moved the majority of all my liquid assents into secret off-shore accounts in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. So. even if you could pin anything on me I can flee the country well ahead of any attempt to bring me to justice."
Statement:
"Third, I did not destroy or improperly suppress any documents at Twitter regarding information important to the public dialogue. At all times I sought to help my client understand and comply with its legal obligations. It is worth noting that the public record indicates that after I left the company, attorneys or other unidentified third parties collected and/or reviewed the contents of at least some the Twitter Files prior to their release."
Translation:
"You are not going to find anything in my garage." 😛
Statement:
"Fourth, Twitter disclosed publicly emails between me and Yoel Roth regarding one of Donald Trump’s Tweets about COVID. I do not have access to my Twitter emails, so I don’t know if or how I responded to Mr. Roth. To the best of my recollection, I do not recall directing or urging him to take action on Mr. Trump’s Tweet. Instead, what I recall is that I asked him a question so that I could better understand how he and others were implementing Twitter’s COVID misinformation policy. Asking questions and learning more about a client’s activities is what I think good lawyers should do. And, again, hardly surprising."
Translation:
"On advice of counsel, I don't know if I don't know or if I don't recall. If, in the instance when I don't recall, I don't know if I remember recalling or if I remember not recalling if I remember. In any event, it was out of my purview because I think good lawyers should recall asking questions then not recalling the answers to best serve the interests of their clients."
Statement:
"As you, Mr. Jordan, and others have proposed, a potentially workable way to legislate in this area may be to focus on the actions of federal government agencies and officials with respect to their engagement with the private sector. Congress might be able to limit the nature and scope of those interactions in certain ways, require enhanced transparency and reporting by the executive branch about its engagements, and require higher level approvals within the executive branch prior to engagements on certain topics so that you could hold Senate-confirmed officials accountable for their decisions. In any event, if you want to legislate, my recommendation is to focus first on reasonable and effective limitations on governmental actors."
Translation:
"You couldn't prove I was connected with the FISA abuse and unwarranted surveillance of Carter Page... and I got out of the DOJ with my full pension. As I stated earlier, all the money I got from Twitter and then some is already out of the country so, again, you really can't hurt me in the long run. And if you did get close, I'll flip and sing for full immunity. Better than a get out of jail card. You "can" have your cake and eat it too."
Statement:
"Thank you."
Translation:
"Mr. Jordan, who do I see about getting my parking ticket validated?"
Full statement of James A. Baker
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO00/20230208/115286/HHRG-118-GO00-Wstate-BakerJ-20230208.pdf