Blog: Response to Recent Twitter Hacking

Statement

It's been a baptism by fire into the world of Internet media since a hacker apparently cracked the campaign's Twitter account and sent some derogatory tweets. First let me express sincere regret to Congressman Trey Gowdy and Senator Lindsey Graham that all three of us were portrayed in a bad light by some unknown person. I pledge with certainty that whoever this hacker was, he or she had had no connection to my campaign. Also, by extension, I regret the slur on the dignity of the LGBT community, of which I've always been a vocal supporter.

I regret the wear and tear on my volunteers and would also like to be clear that nobody was "fired," as was misreported. Throughout this campaign, volunteers have joined and left for personal reasons but no one left on bad terms. Further, I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support that I have received.

Anyone can read my personal and campaign writings and see that I've avoided any kind of insults or name-calling and have stuck to the issues. This is the kind of respectful campaign I insist on, and everyone who works with me feels the same. The idea that such a childish slur would even occur to me is ridiculous. (These things go without saying to anyone who knows me, but it's important to go on the record for those who don't.)

Now it's time to move on, back to the issues and the campaign. Since this incident, I have been contacted by numerous supporters and friends of the campaign urging me to reconsider my original decision to permanently close the Twitter account. Since I'm intentionally operating on a shoestring budget because of my firm conviction that big money has no place in politics, social media is an important part of our plan for reaching out to voters.

We're pursuing every technological method to find out the origin of the message. As of yet, we have received no confirmation that anyone other than a young Republican in Washington D.C. even saw the original tweet. Once we have fully investigated the source and tightened our security, we will begin tweeting again, because the campaign has important things to say.

Source