UPDATE: We’re getting our first glimpse of the invisible jury that could hear this case (as soon as they find someone to charge). Don’t forget to send in your invisible check to the Colorado Republican Party!
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As the Denver Post’s Kirk Mitchell reports, following up on a story that has bedeviled the Colorado Republican Party ever since the state convention last month:
The Colorado Republican Party has filed a federal lawsuit against the unknown person officials say tapped its twitter account and wrote the controversial tweet “We did it. #Never Trump” at the culmination of its state assembly in Colorado Springs…
The lawsuit filed Monday seeks unspecified monetary damages against John Doe, the yet unidentified perpetrator who either used the Colorado Republican Committee’s computer without authorization or hacked into the committee’s Twitter account.
Party spokesman Kyle Kohli told The Denver Post Tuesday the lawsuit was intended to send a public message and clarify the party didn’t publish the post on Twitter. [Pols emphasis]
The headline of the story, “Colorado GOP sues alleged sender of ‘We did it. #NeverTrump’ tweet,” certainly makes it sound as though the party had made some kind of actual progress in identifying the Tweet’s origin. When we last reported on this story, it was to expose a considerable falsehood from Colorado GOP chairman Steve House. House had initially claimed after the Tweet was published that the party “had the IP address” of the sender, but later admitted to the Colorado Statesman’s Ernest Luning that wasn’t true.
Despite the splashy headline, it’s clear from the full story that the Colorado GOP has made no progress whatsoever in identifying the alleged “rogue” sender. It’s possible they could get a court order via this suit for Twitter to give up additional log data in their possession, but as we’ve said previously, that might not do any good since the perpetrator could have connected from any number of public networks.
And the bottom line is, the whole “scandal” is increasingly moot. Donald Trump is now the de facto Republican nominee for President, and whatever shenanigans that may or may not have taken place to corral all of Colorado’s delegates for Ted Cruz are now an historical footnote. We’re not sure what kind of monetary damages the party would even be able to recover over this quickly-deleted and disavowed Tweet, although we suppose not being in Trump’s good graces as a Republican functionary, you know, has its price.
Besides, before 2016 is over, the “Never Trump” folks may feel rather vindicated.
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Steve House is a bumbling idiot. Not to late to resign, Steve, and let somebody competent save Colorado from disaster!
If House resigns, does that mean an unknown person is suing an unknown person?
Or does an invisible judge dismiss the case?
It takes one to know one…I've heard.
Yet House remains on the throne while Moddy barks from under the porch.
You need to be more specific in your language, Moddy. There is no 'Colorado disaster' other than my old Party. Colorado has one of the best economies in the nation despite the valiant efforts of the likes of you and yours.
"On April 19, the CRC sent e-mails to everyone who had at one point had access to the @cologop account asking that they identify themselves, but received no response, the lawsuit says."
LOL.
Don't expect House to answer his party's email. What a waste of money this smokescreen lawsuit is… and to protect the individuals who are very, very likely known to House. What a stupid PR ruse.
A pointless lawsuit. Even if they identify someone who used the party's Twitter account without permission, what are the damages sustained by the Republican Party. How would one quantify the damages? At the least the attorneys fees and costs involved can't be used to promote Republican candidates.
Do the attorneys still get paid in visible money?
How much is butt hurt worth? That is the question this lawsuit seeks to assess. Good on them for reminding everyone how much disarray the CO Repubs are truly in. A lot of folks wouldn't want to keep reminding the average Joe how truly f'd up their party was. It takes guts to stand up and proclaim how bad one is at managing an organization. That is the suicidal toilet flush few would dare to pull.
In fairness to the party, Twitter likely requires a court order to turn over information related to the source of any Tweet. Absent a criminal investigation or other government entity's involvement, the way to do that is by undertaking a civil suit. They'll likely have to get another order to compel information about the Tweeter from whatever internet service provider he/she/it used to send the missive.
Depending on the results from that second request, they may either narrow it down to a person, to a business they recognize (like a consultancy), or to the Starbucks or dive bar whose WiFi was being used by the offender (so, no use at all). We'll see.
I expect they'd be able to get at least the costs of investigating. If the use was without authorization, it is a crime, so that threat would help recover the money in a settlement. Of course, they'll probably be content with shaming whoever did it.
You may be correct, but Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet gains more from this great GOP distraction than anyone. And no, Bennet had nothing to do with the tweet – but his election bid just gained more even more traction thanks to House with his lawsuit expenditures and silly side show.
How apropos …
… a suit as pointless as the party what brung it.
This gives the term a "non-appearing party" an entirely new meaning….