Pro-Trump vloggers Diamond & Silk testified before Congress - and it got out of hand fast
- Pro-Trump vloggers Diamond & Silk testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday about allegations of bias and suppression from tech companies like Facebook.
- The hearing quickly devolved into shouting matches and suggestions that the duo could have committed perjury.
WASHINGTON - The Trump-supporting video bloggers Diamond & Silk, whose real names are Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday about accusations of bias against and suppression of conservatives by large tech companies.
When Hardaway and Richardson came under scrutiny from lawmakers, the hearing quickly got out of hand.
At first, ranking Democrats on the committee like Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Zoe Lofgren, avoided questioning Hardaway and Richardson, opting for probing the other witness, who represented trade associations for journalists and tech companies.
The hearing was full of fireworks
A shouting match ensued when Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson questioned Hardaway and Richardson. Hardaway and Richardson exclaimed that they were being "censored" by Facebook, which limits their reach on the platform.
"Rather than diamonds, you're seeking money from Facebook," Johnson said to Hardaway.
"This is a stupid and ridiculous hearing," said California Rep. Ted Lieu.
The hearing regularly showcased Democrats asking Richardson and Hardaway about their practices and theories, to which they responded by shouting and interrupting. At multiple points throughout the hearing, Democrats and Republicans on the committee could be seen laughing, rolling their eyes, and shaking their heads in disbelief.
Dispute over FEC records
The chaos continued when Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat, asked Hardaway whether the duo had ever been paid by the Donald Trump campaign.
Hardaway unequivocally said they have never been paid by the Trump campaign. But Federal Elections Commission records show they were paid $1,274.94 in November of 2016 for "field consulting."
Jackson Lee wanted to continue probing the panel, but her allotted time had expired. She continued to press on while Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, who was standing in for the chairman, banged his gavel and told the committee to move on.
But Rep. Hakeem Jeffries brought the topic back up, making a point that Hardaway and Richardson could be subject to perjury charges.
"So I'm just trying to figure out, who is lying here?" Jeffries said. "Is it the Trump campaign or is someone not telling the truth?"
Richardson said, "Nobody is lying" and attempted to explain the campaign payments.
"Actually this was for because we was asked to join the women for Trump tour back in 2016," Richardson said. "And Ms. Lara Trump asked that our airline tickets be refunded back to us because we paid for those tickets when we went from New York to Ohio."
Their claim was essentially that the FEC or the Trump campaign made a mistake in the finalization of the post-campaign report.
A spokesperson for the FEC told Business Insider that "the information and data available through campaign finance reports on FEC.gov originate from the filing committee."
Labeled "very liberal" by Facebook
Hardaway and Richardson regularly said they were labeled "very liberal" by Facebook, despite being ardent supporters of President Donald Trump and the Republican agenda.
A conflicting component of that claim is that Facebook does not manually label pages. The classification of pages are based on users' behavior on Facebook, such as what pages they like and with which they engage.
In addition, Hardaway and Richardson said they were lifelong Democrats until the 2016 North Carolina primary, when they switched parties to support Trump.
After the hearing concluded, several members of Congress posed for photos with Hardaway and Richardson, including Missouri Republican Jason Smith, who was not on the committee but sat in the audience to watch them.
"A thorn between two roses," Smith said as he posed between the duo.