Former FBI deputy director testifies in Las Vegas trial over app

Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino testified on Wednesday and Thursday in a Las Vegas trial concerning the ouster of Parler’s chief executive. Bongino, a right‑wing media figure who served in the Trump administration, once held a 7.5 percent stake in the app. Parler was launched in Henderson in 2018 as a conservative‑friendly alternative to Twitter, now known as X, and Bongino is listed as a suspect in the case. The proceeding in U.S. District Court arises from a lawsuit filed in 2021 by John Matze, Parler’s former CEO. Matze claims he was improperly forced out after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, during which critics and journalists said rioters used the platform. The company fell into turmoil and was subsequently stripped from major distribution platforms. On the witness stand, Bongino frequently said he could not recall or did not know the answers to questions posed by Matze’s counsel, James Pisanelli. At times he challenged the lawyer’s phrasing. Parler was removed from the Apple App Store on Jan. 9, 2021. Amazon withdrew its hosting support two days later. Pisanelli argued that Bongino’s objections to content‑moderation provisions complicated any effort to relaunch the service. “Get up quickly, don’t crook the genu to large tech, that’s what you’re telling them, right?” Pisanelli asked. “Yeah, in essence, let’s support our brand,” Bongino replied. “And you accidental it without an alternative,” the lawyer said, adding that Bongino’s position was “impossible.” “No, it’s not impossible,” Bongino said. “In concern school, they thatch astir BHAGs, right? Big, hairy, audacious goals. Our BHAG was a escaped code site. If we were going to get backmost fast, but sacrifice our firm vision, I didn’t privation thing to bash with it. Then, we had nary institution successful my mind.” Under the subheading “Bongino: ‘I’m not a manager’,” Todd Bice, another lawyer representing Matze, told the jury during opening statements that Parler owner Rebekah Mercer and others conspired to remove Matze from leadership, costing him his job and a 40 percent interest in the company. Bongino denied any involvement in Matze’s departure, saying he was undergoing medical treatment at the time and wished to leave the firm. He repeatedly told jurors, “I’m not a manager.” Pisanelli directed Bongino to a written note in which he wrote, “The missive and the described changes to the OA are due fixed the seriousness of his actions.” Bongino explained that “OA” referred to an operating agreement but said he could not recall the circumstances of the note, even though another document indicated a company official had asked him to review a letter to Matze. “Is it your grounds you person nary recollection of approving changes to the operating statement that would effect successful John losing his spot arsenic a manager?” Pisaneli asked. “I had zero quality to o.k. immoderate of this,” Bongino replied. “I’m not asking astir your authority,” Pisanelli said. The two debated the meaning of the word “approve,” with Bongino stating he did not know what the changes were or how they had been described to him. “I tried to assistance him and helium sued me,” Bongino said of Matze. Chad Clement, counsel for Rebekah Mercer, contended that Matze was terminated for legitimate cause. The CEO, Clement asserted, “engaged successful improper and intentional behaviour to earnestly harm Parler, the precise institution he helped create.” A disputed point centered on a problematic interview with a New York Times podcast, after which, according to testimony, Apple used Matze’s remarks to justify removing Parler from its store. U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney, D‑N.Y., who chaired the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, requested the FBI in 2021 to examine the app’s role in the Capitol riot and asserted that many of those involved had used the platform. Bice previously maintained that allegations linking Parler to the insurrection were false and argued the company was made a scapegoat by its technology‑industry rivals.