Twitter's ousted deputy general counsel Jim Baker has been at the center of the controversy surrounding the release of the so-called "Twitter Files," and his past role as the general counsel for the FBI has also raised eyebrows. In between jobs, however, Baker landed a plum gig with CNN.
Baker was fired Tuesday after it was discovered that he had vetted the first batch of the "Twitter Files" shared by Substack journalist Matt Taibbi without the knowledge of Twitter's new owner Elon Musk.
Critics of Baker have highlighted his key role in the FBI's investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election before he was "reassigned" in December 2017 and left the agency in May 2018.
Baker was involved in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant application to surveil then-Trump campaign aide Carter Page, which heavily relied on the now-discredited Steele dossier that was funded by the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's presidential campaign through the liberal law firm Perkins Coie.
Baker was also the FBI official in September 2016 who met with then-Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, who presented data allegedly showing a covert communications channel between the Trump Organization and the Russia-based Alfa Bank, something that was debunked upon scrutiny.
During Sussmann's trial where he was charged and later acquitted for lying to the FBI about not disclosing his ties to the Clinton campaign, Baker admitted that Sussmann was a "friend" and quickly shared Sussmann's findings at the time to then-FBI Director James Comey and then-FBI Deputy Director Andy McCabe as the Russia probe had already been underway.
Baker himself was investigated by the Department of Justice in January 2019 for allegedly leaking classified information to reporters but was never charged.
On May 10, 2019, the ex-FBI lawyer began publicly denouncing then-President Trump's attacks on the Russia investigation. Three days later, he was welcomed as a guest on CNN, the first of at least nine appearances over the course of a month.
By the end of June, CNN hired Baker as a legal analyst.
Over the course of a year, Baker was brought on to discuss the Mueller probe and later the legality of Trump's Ukraine scandal that ultimately led to his first impeachment.
The scandal surrounded a July 2019 phone call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that involved Trump seeking dirt on Hunter Biden and his role at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma as his father was running for president. Trump was accused of attempting to establish a quid pro quo that would block foreign aide to Ukraine until Ukraine announced an investigation into the Bidens.
Notably, it has since been reported that the FBI had launched its own investigation into Hunter Biden's "tax affairs" as early as 2018. It is unclear whether the probe began before Baker left the FBI and whether he had any knowledge that the FBI was investigating Hunter Biden while providing commentary on CNN during the Ukraine scandal.
On several occasions, Baker would appear alongside his former FBI colleague-turned-CNN colleague Andrew McCabe on "Cuomo Prime Time" to talk about the latest Trump drama. He would also frequently appear on panels with then-CNN's chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who has since left the network.
Much of Baker's time on-air was to express animus towards Trump, even insisting the president should apologize to him personally and the rest of the FBI for his criticisms of the agency.
Based on Grabien transcripts, Baker's last known CNN appearance was on Feb. 20, 2020, to discuss the sentencing of convicted Trump ally Roger Stone. According to his LinkedIn page, Baker left CNN in May 2020 before officially joining Twitter in June 2020.
According to transcripts, CNN has made only one mention of Baker's role in supporting Twitter's decision to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story since Taibbi first reported his involvement on Friday. However, CNN has yet to cover his firing from Twitter and his alleged insubordination during the release of the "Twitter Files."
Musk announced on Tuesday that he had terminated Baker as Twitter's No. 2 lawyer "in light of concerns about Baker’s possible role in suppression of information important to the public dialogue."
When asked by a Twitter user if Baker was able to explain himself, Musk replied his "explanation was …unconvincing."
Moments later, Taibbi began his own Twitter thread calling it a "Twitter Files Supplemental."
"On Friday, the first installment of the Twitter files was published here. We expected to publish more over the weekend. Many wondered why there was a delay," Taibbi tweeted. "We can now tell you part of the reason why. On Tuesday, Twitter Deputy General Counsel (and former FBI General Counsel) Jim Baker was fired. Among the reasons? Vetting the first batch of 'Twitter Files' – without knowledge of new management."
Taibbi explained, "The process for producing the ‘Twitter Files’ involved delivery to two journalists (Bari Weiss and me) via a lawyer close to new management. However, after the initial batch, things became complicated. Over the weekend, while we both dealt with obstacles to new searches, it was @BariWeiss who discovered that the person in charge of releasing the files was someone named Jim. When she called to ask ‘Jim’s’ last name, the answer came back: ‘Jim Baker.’
He said Weiss' "jaw hit the floor" at the news.
The Substack writer then shared a screenshot of the first batch of files both he and Weiss received, labeled "Spectra Baker Emails."
"Baker is a controversial figure. He has been something of a Zelig of FBI controversies dating back to 2016, from the Steele Dossier to the Alfa-Server mess. He resigned in 2018 after an investigation into leaks to the press," Taibbi told his followers. "The news that Baker was reviewing the ‘Twitter files’ surprised everyone involved, to say the least. New Twitter chief Elon Musk acted quickly to ‘exit’ Baker Tuesday.
"Reporters resumed searches through Twitter Files material – a lot of it – today. The next installment of ‘The Twitter Files’ will appear @bariweiss. Stay tuned," Taibbi teased.
Weiss later added, "It's been quite a weekend."
Baker did surface in the first installment of the so-called "Twitter Files" shared by Taibbi Friday night.
While revealing internal discussions over how to explain Twitter's suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 election, Baker told his colleagues "I support the conclusion that we need more facts to assess whether the materials were hacked" but added, "it's reasonable for us to assume that they may have been and that caution is warranted."
Additionally, Taibbi initially reported "Although several sources recalled hearing about a ‘general’ warning from federal law enforcement that summer about possible foreign hacks, there’s no evidence - that I've seen - of any government involvement in the laptop story." It is unclear whether Baker's involvement in vetting the "Twitter Files" led Taibbi to draw that conclusion and whether Baker omitted files that would have shown the federal government intervening in Twitter's suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called for full transparency with the release of the "Twitter Files."
"If the goal is transparency to build trust, why not just release everything without filter and let people judge for themselves? Including all discussions around current and future actions? Make everything public now," Dorsey wrote Wednesday.
"Most important data was hidden (from you too) and some may have been deleted, but everything we find will be released," Musk replied.
It is unclear whether Baker was directly involved in the suppression or deletion of the "Twitter Files."
Musk has been vocal about being transparent when it comes to Twitter's past and present actions as to curating content on the platform, including censored content.
Twitter infamously blocked its users from sharing the New York Post's 2020 reporting of Hunter Biden's laptop in tweets and in direct messages.
At the time, Twitter Safety alleged the articles were in violation of its "hacked materials policy." Since then, both Dorsey and ex-Twitter safety chief Yoel Roth have admitted the company's actions were a mistake.
