A video of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) naming whistleblower Eric Ciaramella on the Senate floor was removed from the platform on Thursday.
The video featured Paul asking Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) about Ciaramella’s ties to the Democratic Party during the impeachment hearing.
“Are you aware that House Intelligence Committee staffer Sean Misko had a close relationship with Eric Ciaramella when at the National Security Council together?” he stated. “How do you respond to reports that Ciaramella and Misko may have worked together to plot impeaching the president before there were formal House impeachment proceedings?”
Despite Ciaramella’s identity as the whistleblower in the investigation into Trump’s conduct regarding foreign aid to Ukraine being common knowledge, media outlets and online platforms have engaged in an unprecedented effort to hide his name.
Paul subsequently slammed YouTube censorship in a statement released on Twitter.
“A chilling and disturbing day in America when giant web companies such as YouTube decide to censor speech,” Paul wrote. “Protected speech, such as that of a senator on the Senate floor, can be blocked from getting to the people. This is dangerous & politically biased.”
Censorship of conservatives on online platforms has been a growing trend over the last few years, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that this censorship now even extends to elected officials.
