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Sam Brownback

Brownback Apologizes To Teen Tweeter

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) to get up in arms over a teenager's disparaging tweet.

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Topics: Kansas, Sam Brownback, Twitter

Twitter

Brownback Complaint About Student Tweet Lands Kansas Teenager In Principal's Office

A Kansas teenager got in some trouble with her school for comments she posted on her Twitter account -- in which she claimed to have trashed Gov. Sam Brownback (R) to his face during a field trip.

Emma Sullivan, an 18-year old high school senior, was at an event in Topeka this past Monday for Kansas Youth in Government, which was addressed by Brownback. During the event, Sullivan posted to her Twitter account:

Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot

But as it turns out, Brownback's office watches Twitter for comments about him. Brownback spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag told the event organizers about the comment, "so that they were aware what their students were saying in regards to the governor's appearance," the Wichita Eagle reports, also adding: "We monitor social media so we can see what Kansans are thinking and saying about the governor and his policies."

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Topics: Kansas, Sam Brownback, Twitter

Barack Obama

Obama Preps For Twitter Townhall


President Barack Obama and staffers

President Obama will hold his first ever Twitter townhall Wednesday in an attempt to engage a new and growing audience who no longer rely primarily on the mainstream media and traditional outlets for their news.

No stranger to the power of social media, Obama will respond to questions that have been streaming in using the hashtag #AskObama since the White House, through its official Twitter account, @whitehouse, announced the online "Tweet-Up" event last week. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey will moderate the discussion, which will begin at 2 p.m.

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Topics: 2012 elections, Barack Obama, Jobs and the Economy, Twitter, White House

Anthony Weiner

Weiner: 'I Can't Say With Certitude' Lewd Photo Wasn't Me (VIDEO)


Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) told MSNBC's Luke Russert today that he couldn't say "with certitude" that the lewd photograph sent out last weekend on his Twitter account wasn't a picture of him.

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Topics: Anthony Weiner, Twitter

Anthony Weiner

Combative Weiner Shirks Questions About Lewd Photo 'Hack' (VIDEO)


Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

In his second recorded exchange with reporters on Tuesday, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) pointedly refused to answer questions from reporters about the lewd photograph that appeared on his Twitter account this weekend. Instead, the Congressman insisted that the incident was a "prank" and a "distraction," and said he'd made a decision to move on.

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Topics: Anthony Weiner, Twitter

Anthony Weiner

Weiner On Twitter 'Hack': 'I'm Not Going To Talk About This Anymore'


Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

Four days after a lewd photograph appeared on his Twitter account, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) continues to get questions about it from reporters. Over the last several days, the congressman and his office have called the incident a "hack," a "prank" and a "distraction" -- and on Tuesday Weiner told reporters that he was "not going to talk about this anymore."

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Topics: Anthony Weiner, Twitter

Anthony Weiner

Rep. Weiner Retaining Counsel In Lewd Twitter Photo 'Hack'


Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

Rep. Anthony Weiner's spokesman says the New York Democrat has retained counsel to explore possible legal action after a lewd photograph was posted on his Twitter feed this weekend. According to Weiner, the photograph, which showed a close-up of a man's crotch in tight underwear and was addressed to a 21-year-old Seattle woman, was the work of a hacker.

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Topics: Anthony Weiner, Twitter

Rick Perry

Perry's Office Tells Blocked Journo: Gov Uses Account 'As He Likes'


Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Dallas Morning News reporter Tom Benning has his answer as to why he's being blocked from following Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Twitter. Sort of.

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Topics: Rick Perry, Twitter

Rick Perry

Is Rick Perry Blocking Journalists From Following Him On Twitter?


Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

A reporter at The Dallas Morning News says he's been blocked from following Texas Gov. Rick Perry's Twitter account -- and he's not the only one.

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Topics: Rick Perry, Texas, Twitter

Detroit

Kwame Tweet: 'Moral Responsibility May Compel You To Disobey The Law'


Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick -- or, more likely, a family member -- is defending the mayor on Twitter after his federal indictment yesterday charging him with racketeering, bribery, extortion and fraud.

"Is disobedience of the government ever justified?" the @KwameAndFamily Twitter account asked yesterday.

A few hours later: "We must obey God rather than men."

This morning: "Moral responsibility may compel you to disobey the law."

TPM confirmed the authenticity of the Twitter account with Mike Paul, Kilpatrick's public relations man.

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Topics: Corruption, Detroit, Internet, Kwame Kilpatrick, Michigan, Twitter

Tom Corbett

Penn AG Withdraws Twitter Subpoena


Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett has withdrawn his subpoena of Twitter, through which he had been seeking information on the identity of a blogger who was attacking him.

State prosecutors in the Brett Cott case said today, after Cott was sentenced to five years in prison, that the subpoena is no longer necessary. In a memo given to the judge before sentencing, they had argued that Cott should receive a stiffer sentence, in part because he had used the blog "to deflect blame and deny responsibility for his criminal conduct, and to attack and malign the investigative and prosecutorial process which resulted in his conviction."

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Topics: Tom Corbett, Twitter, subpoena

Tom Corbett

Twitter Subpoena Was Part Of Bid For Stiffer Sentence In 'Bonus-Gate' Probe


Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett

It's become clear who Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett thinks is behind the Twitter account that he subpoenaed information on last week.

As we reported Wednesday, the AG and Republican nominee for governor last week subpoenaed Twitter, demanding information about two accounts, both of which contained Tweets that were critical of Corbett, and linked to a blog with a similar anti-Corbett message. He didn't offer details about the purpose of the subpoenas.

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Topics: ACLU, Tom Corbett, Twitter, subpoena

Tom Corbett

Penn. AG Subpoenas Twitter: A Move To Silence Critics?


Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett

Is the attorney general of Pennsylvania using his authority to go after political critics?

Tom Corbett, who this week won the GOP nomination in the state's gubernatorial race, has subpoenaed Twitter, demanding that it provide information about the people behind two accounts, reports TechCrunch. The subpoena refers to "alleged violations of the laws of Pennsylvania".

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Topics: Health Care Reform, Ken Cuccinelli, Tom Corbett, Twitter, subpoena

Kevin Trudeau

Infomercial King Sentenced To Jail For E-mail Bombing Judge


Kevin Trudeau

You may remember Kevin Trudeau from such late-night infomercials as Free Money, Mega Memory System, and Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About.

Now, the man dubbed the "infomercial king" by Chicago media, who has been in a cat-and-mouse game with the FTC for years -- for allegedly making bogus claims about everything from weight loss to cures for debt, cancer, and heroin addiction -- may be headed to jail after asking supporters to bombard a federal judge with e-mails.

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Topics: FTC, Free Money, Kevin Trudeau, Mega Memory System, Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About, Twitter

Bernard Kerik

Ex-Commissioner Kerik's Mug Shot Released; NYC Tabloids Revel


Fmr. NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik

Former New York Police commissioner, Homeland Security secretary nominee, and beefsteak dinner honoree Bernie Kerik is now inmate 210717 at the Westchester County jail, after a judge revoked Kerik's bail yesterday.

The New York Post declares, "Bernie Kerik in the clink." The Daily News blows up the mug shot to grotesque pixelation.

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Topics: Anthony Modafferi, Bernard Kerik, Homeland Security, The Washington Times, Twitter