Journalist Ken Klippenstein Suspended by X After Leaking JD Vance Files

X, the platform once known as Twitter, temporarily banned journalist Ken Klippenstein’s account on Thursday. The suspension came shortly after he shared an article that included a link to a dossier on JD Vance, the Republican candidate for U.S. Vice President, which purportedly originated from an Iranian cyberattack on former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign team.

Klippenstein, a former reporter for The Intercept, explained in a post on his subscription-based Substack that the suspension was due to a violation of X’s policy against posting private information.

“In general, it’s standard to remove ‘private’ data from leaks and classified documents, but here, not only is Vance a public figure and vice presidential hopeful, the information is also accessible for purchase by anyone,” he noted. Vance currently serves as the junior U.S. senator from Ohio.

Klippenstein further commented:

“Let’s be clear about the so-called private information in the dossier and ‘private’ information in general. Anyone who can afford it can access this data. The campaign got this information from commercial data brokers who profit immensely from selling such data. The media also purchases this information for reporting purposes, though they seldom admit it.”

He also noted that mainstream media had access to the dossier since June but chose not to publish it due to concerns about aligning against the government’s stance on ‘foreign malign influence.’

“Had this document been hacked by a group similar to ‘Anonymous,’ the media would have jumped on it,” he argued. “I don’t see the news media as an extension of the government, nor should it act as a gatekeeper of what the public is allowed to know.”

Klippenstein provided a broad summary of the dossier’s contents, which he described as “a 271-page research document prepared by the Trump campaign to vet Vance,” highlighting several points from the text:

• “Vance has actively obstructed U.S. efforts to provide assistance to Ukraine.”
• “Vance has criticized public health experts and officials for supporting Black Lives Matter protests while condemning anti-lockdown [Covid] protests.”
• “Vance supports non-interventionist policies.”
• “In 2020, Vance criticized President Trump’s decision to order an airstrike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, expressing concern that it would further entangle the U.S. in Middle Eastern conflicts to China’s benefit.”
• “Vance has suggested that the U.S. involvement in Middle Eastern wars allows ‘financial elites’ to profit from China’s rise.”

“While the media has paraphrased parts of the dossier, they haven’t provided the American public with the document itself, in its original wording, to let them form their own opinions,” Klippenstein stated. “You decide for yourself.”

A spokesperson for X toldZeteo‘s Justin Baragona, “Ken Klippenstein was temporarily suspended for violating our rules on posting unredacted private personal information, specifically Senator Vance’s physical addresses and the majority of his Social Security number.”

The FBI is investigating the claim by the Trump campaign that the dossier resulted from an Iranian cyberattack, which the Iranian government denies.

Many critics, noting Elon Musk’s proclaimed commitment to free speech, labeled the suspension as hypocritical, although it is unclear whether Musk played a direct role in the decision. Additional reports have surfaced of other users facing similar repercussions for disseminating the dossier.

“Remember when free speech enthusiast Elon Musk was up in arms about Twitter’s censorship practices,” journalist Seth Hettena remarked on X.

Jacobin writer Branko Marcetic commented, “This situation is a glimpse into a future none of us want, where major stories are ignored by established media, and independent outlets covering them are suppressed by tech overlords.”