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Twitter CFO: If Trump runs again, his ban will remain

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Even if former President Donald Trump runs again in 2024, his ban from Twitter will remain permanent, the company’s chief financial officer said Wednesday.

In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program Wednesday morning, host Rebecca Quick asked Twitter CFO Ned Segal whether the social media site would still keep its ban on Trump if he ran again and became president again.

“The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform whether you’re a commentator, you’re a CFO or you are a former or current public official,” Segal responded.

“Our policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence,” he added, “and if anybody does that, we would have to remove them from the service and our policies don’t allow people to come back.”

“So, no?” Quick asked.

“He was removed when he was president, and there’d be no difference for anybody who [was] a public official once they’ve been removed from the service,” Segal replied.

Shortly following a mob violently storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6—the same day that Congress, overseen by then-Vice President Mike Pence, was set to certify the states’ Electoral College votes and thus President Joe Biden‘s 2020 election victory—multiple social media sites either suspended or permanently banned his accounts. Generally speaking, they argued that Trump violated their policies and was using the platforms to spread misinformation and undermine the democratic process.

Prior to Twitter permanently banning Trump, he was protected by the platform’s world leader policy, which exempts currently serving global leaders from penalties for posting certain policy-violating content. Trump, the company argued, needed to be held accountable for violating its policies, despite still being a world leader at the time.

Exactly one week after the riot, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 232-197 to impeach Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” On Tuesday, the trial in the U.S. Senate began, the first one ever for a former president. If the chamber successfully convicts him, which isn’t expected to happen, one result would be a ban on Trump—who hasn’t ruled out a 2024 campaign—from running for office ever again.

RELATED: Senate votes 56-44 that impeachment trial is constitutional, six GOP senators break ranks

In their arguments, those in favor of convicting the former commander-in-chief have especially pointed to certain comments Trump made at the January 6 White House rally shortly before the riot and in the lead-up to the rally.

RELATED: Joe Scarborough calls for arrests of Trump, Giuliani, Trump Jr. for insurrection in fiery speech

In one of those comments among several others, Trump said toward the end of his speech to a fiery crowd of supporters: “We’re going to the Capitol” to give Republicans the “boldness that they need to take back our country.”

“Let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue,” he added, then telling the crowd he would “be there with you.”

On the other hand, those defending the former president, aside from claiming it’s unconstitutional to impeach Trump now that he’s out of office, have argued that he did not specifically tell his supporters to commit acts of violence and that there is no objective way to prove the election wasn’t stolen from Trump.

You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.

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Hunter Biden Indicted on Federal Gun Charges Amidst Special Counsel Investigation

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In a significant development, Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was indicted on Thursday on federal gun charges as part of Special Counsel David Weiss’ ongoing investigation. The indictment alleges that Hunter Biden made false statements during the purchase of a firearm, among other charges.

The charges against Hunter Biden include:

• Making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm

• Making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer

•Possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance

According to the indictment, the alleged incident occurred on or about October 12, 2018, in the District of Delaware. Hunter Biden is accused of knowingly making a false and fictitious written statement during the acquisition of a Colt Cobra 38SPL Revolver. According to reports from Fox News, the statement, submitted on Form 4473, falsely certified that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, or controlled substance.

Furthermore, the indictment further states that between October 12, 2018, and October 23, 2018, in the District of Delaware, Hunter Biden knowingly possessed the same firearm despite being an unlawful user of and addicted to controlled substances. This marks the first set of charges brought by Special Counsel David Weiss against Hunter Biden since being granted special counsel status.

The investigation came to public attention when it was reported by Fox News in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018 involving a gun owned by Hunter Biden.

Reports state that, Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden’s late son, Beau, who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, discarded the gun. Hunter’s gun was thrown away in a dumpster near a market, located close to a school. It was subsequently revealed that Hunter Biden had purchased a gun earlier that same month.

Hunter Biden’s legal troubles do not end with the gun charges. Earlier in July, an original plea agreement collapsed, which would have seen him plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts for willful failure to pay federal income tax, thus avoiding jail time on a felony gun charge. Instead, he pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss as special counsel to oversee the Hunter Biden investigation and related matters. The White House has declined to comment on these developments, which continue to draw significant public and media attention.

Follow Alexander Carter on Twitter @AlexCarterDC for more!

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