Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett doesn’t like what some Twitter users are tweeting about him.<\/p>\n
In fact, the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office has sent a subpoena that threatens Twitter officials with arrest unless they identify two users that criticize Tom Corbett and his public corruption investigations.<\/p>\n
The subpoena demands that Twitter’s custodian of records release “any and all subscriber information” for the accounts bfbarbie<\/a> and CasablancaPA<\/a>, including name, address, contact information, creation date, and IP address for the two users.<\/p>\n The two users have been critical of Corbett’s use of grand juries and suggest that he uses investigations for political gain and to go after political adversaries.<\/p>\n Neither user seems phased, as they are still tweeting against the AG and even wearing the subpoena as a badge of honor.<\/p>\n A Twitter representative was summoned to appear before a state grand jury on May 14 to “give evidence regarding alleged violations of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”<\/p>\n However, the vague court document does not specifics about what crime(s) are being investigated.<\/p>\n The subpoena was issued on May 6 and states that failure to appear could result in an arrest warrant being issued for contempt of court.<\/p>\n It is not known whether or not Twitter has released the requested information to the court.<\/p>\n Vic Walczak of the American Civil Liberties Union stated that the subpoena “raises grave concerns about abuse of the grand jury process to retaliate against political critics and opponents.”<\/p>\n Walczak further stated that US citizens “have a right to criticize government officials and to do so anonymously.”<\/p>\n Last week Corbett won the Republican primary to run for governor of Pennsylvania. He claims that he doesn’t have any problem with people criticizing him on Twitter.<\/p>\n However, he would not discuss the subpoena, saying the investigation stops him from discussing the issue publicly.<\/p>\n