One of Elon Musk’s top lieutenants has reportedly promised an infamous right-wing provocateur that his Twitter ban will be lifted ‘soon’.
Jared Birchall, who runs Musk’s personal investment office and has been a top advisor in his $44 billion Twitter takeover, made the promise in a text message to activist Charles C. Johnson, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Johnson is a self-described investigative journalist who became famous for his internet pranks and campaigns targeting left-wing activists, politicians and reporters. Critics call him a ‘digital Darth Vader’ and the ‘troll king’.
He was banned from Twitter in 2015 for sending a fundraising appeal to support ‘taking out’ Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson, who called the remark a ‘serious threat’ and asked for Johnson to be banned from the platform.
Johnson insisted that he was using the term ‘taking out’ to refer to his plans to dig up dirt on McKesson, but Twitter sided with the BLM activist, banning Johnson under its policy against targeted harassment.
The case became an early example of the social media site’s policies cracking down on controversial content, which critics argue are biased against conservatives.
According to the Journal, when Johnson saw Musk’s recent offer to buy Twitter, he texted Birchall asking: ‘When do I get my Twitter account back?’
‘Hopefully soon,’ Birchall reportedly responded.
Johnson told the newspaper that while he does want to regain his account, he doesn’t plan to return to regular tweeting, saying: ‘I’m over Twitter.’
Birchall did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com on Saturday morning.
The money manager, a 47 year-old married father of five, has worked for Musk since 2016, helping to manage a fortune estimated at some $240 billion.
Birchall runs what is known as Musk’s ‘family office’ – a private wealth management advisory firm that serves ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Birchall is also the chief executive of Musk’s brain chip firm Neuralink, a director at Musk’s tunneling firm the Boring Company and a board member at the billionaire’s philanthropic private foundation.
The Journal’s new report also reveals details of Musk’s close relationship with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, and suggests that the iconoclast billionaire wants to reinstate Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
Musk remains dismayed that Trump remains barred from the platform after Twitter accused him of inspiring violence in the immediate aftermath of the US Capitol riot, people who have spoken with Musk recently told the Journal.
Trump, who recently launched his own social media service Truth Social, has claimed that he would not return to Twitter even if his ban were lifted.
Dorsey, who was then CEO of Twitter, is said to have initially opposed banning Trump in early 2021, but acquiesced in the face of insistence from other executives.
Former Twitter executives told the Journals that they became aware of Dorsey’s budding friendship with Musk in 2020.
One former Twitter executive said Dorsey would sometimes appear to space out in meetings because he was messaging Musk during the workday.
‘Elon is the singular solution I trust,’ Dorsey tweeted on April 25, the day Twitter accepted Mr. Musk’s bid. ‘I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.’
If Musk makes good on his takeover bid, Dorsey stands to walk away with nearly $1 billion for his Twitter stake.
Meanwhile, in an emergency meeting on Friday, Twitter employees lashed out over Elon Musk ‘s deal to acquire the company for $44 billion, accusing the world’s richest man of bigotry and fretting over potential job cuts once the deal closes.
Staffers at the ‘impromptu’ all-hands meeting fired angry questions at executives including CEO Parag Agrawal, who was described as looking tired and at times annoyed, according to Insider .
Reached by DailyMail.com on Saturday morning, a Twitter spokeswoman declined to comment on the meeting.
One employee at the meeting described Musk as anti-gay and anti-transgender, expressing fear that his ownership would hurt efforts to recruit new employees.
‘What should we tell the LGTBQ community at recruiting conferences we’re lined up to attend when they ask us why they should come work at Twitter when we just sold ourselves to an open homophobe and transphobe?’ the staffer asked Dalana Brand, Twitter’s chief people and diversity officer.
Brand diplomatically avoided agreeing with that assessment of Musk, responding: ‘I cannot speak to Elon’s personal feelings on these things. I can’t speak to what he’s done in his other companies, in terms of people’s experiences.’
‘Perhaps in the future we’ll be able to have a conversation. That may be telling,’ she added.
Twitter staffers also voiced fears about coming layoffs. Musk has reportedly vowed to slash executive pay after taking over, but one source said he will not make any decisions about job cuts until he assumes ownership.
One employee, described as ‘angry and disappointed,’ raised the issue with Agrawal in a question read aloud during the meeting.
‘I’m tired of hearing about shareholder value and fiduciary duty. What are your honest thoughts about the very high likelihood that many employees will not have jobs after the deal closes?’ the employee asked.
Agrawal answered that Twitter has always cared about its employees and would continue to do so, but did not deny the possibility of layoffs.
‘Different organizations have different cultures, but they’ve excelled,’ he said. ‘It will be different here than what it is today, but for the people who are here, it will be worth it to be here.’
‘I believe the future Twitter organization will continue to care about its impact on the world and its customers,’ he said.
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