Christopher Wylie, the former Cambridge Analytica employee who revealed how the company acquired and used harvested Facebook data without users' knowledge or permission, met with Democrats from the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees Tuesday.
AP:
Wylie’s visit is part of a Democratic attempt to keep congressional focus on Russian meddling in the 2016 election and on whether Trump’s campaign was involved. Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee plan to meet with Wylie on Wednesday. Republicans were invited to both meetings but declined to attend.
It was unclear if there were any new revelations in Tuesday’s closed-door meeting, which lasted less than three hours and was attended by a handful of lawmakers. The Democrats said they would like to hold additional interviews, but it was unclear if any were scheduled.
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“The Republicans aren’t always going to be in the majority,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, a member of the Oversight panel, after he left the interview with Wylie. “So I think we have to do our due diligence, we have to lay the groundwork for what we would actually want to do if we take back the House and we are operating in the majority in the committee.”
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Wylie worked for the U.K.-based Cambridge Analytica from 2013 to 2015. In several interviews last month, he said the firm sought information on Facebook to build psychological profiles on a large portion of the U.S. electorate. He said the company was able to amass the database quickly with the help of an academic, Aleksander Kogan, who developed a Facebook app called “This is Your Digital Life” that appeared to be a personality test. Wylie has said he fears that data may have been turned over to Russians who aimed to interfere with the U.S. election.
Cambridge Analytica was backed by the conservative billionaire Robert Mercer, a hedge-fund manager who supported the Trump campaign. The firm’s vice president at one point was Steve Bannon, who later became Trump’s campaign chairman and White House adviser.
Leaving the closed door hearing, Wylie did not reveal what he discussed, but he did say he hoped Congress would look into whether Cambridge Analytica broke any U.S. laws.
Democrats on both committees released a joint statement, emphasizing the need to keep the Russia investigation going.
“Mr. Wylie’s statements today demonstrate why it is so important that our Committees prioritize investigating foreign interference in our elections. We need interviews, documents, and hearings without delay. Instead, Reps. Goodlatte and Gowdy have spent their time on repeated investigations of Hillary Clinton’s emails and holding sham hearings centered on the theory that conservatives are unfairly censored on social media.
“Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to President Trump, once credited Cambridge Analytica with the President’s victory, but the interview with Mr. Wylie today raises serious questions and concerns about our security. We must do more to learn how foreign actors collect and weaponize our data against us, and what impact social media has on our democratic processes. Cambridge Analytica is not the first company to engage in these types of tactics, nor will they be last if we fail to conduct oversight and investigate this matter thoroughly. We demand that Chairman Goodlatte and Chairman Gowdy hold immediate hearings and call in additional witnesses without delay.”
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Democrat Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) also pointed out that committee Republicans who refused to participate in Tuesday's hearing will be holding one Thursday with social media personalities Diamond and Silk.
House Democrats talk to Cambridge Analytica whistleblower (AP)
Judiciary and Oversight Committee Democrats Issue Joint Statement After Interview with Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower (press release)