Directors of Twitter keep all records relating to Musk's bid to buy the company

House Republicans have demanded that Twitter's board keep all records related to Musk's bid to buy the company.

A group of 18 House Republicans has asked Twitter's board to keep all records related to Elon Musk's offer to buy the company, paving the way for a potential congressional investigation if the GOP reclaims the majority this fall.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee asked Twitter Board Chairman Bret Taylor and other members of the board, in letters shared exclusively with news, to preserve any messages from official or personal accounts, including through encryption software, that relates to Twitter's consideration of Musk's offer.

"As Congress continues to investigate Big Tech and how to protect Americans' free speech rights best, this letter serves. As a formal request, you preserve all records and materials relating to Musk's offer to purchase Twitter. In the letter including Twitter's consideration and response to this offer and Twitter's evaluation of its shareholder interests concerning Musk's offer," wrote ranking member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

"You should interpret this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the intentional or careless destruction or alteration of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata. For example, that may be potentially responsive to this congressional inquiry," the letter continued.

The request indicates that if Republicans retake the House majority in the 2022 midterm elections, they may launch an investigation into Twitter, significantly if the company declines Musk's offer, to serve as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. The House Judiciary Committee, which Republicans control, could decide to subpoena records of the board's internal deliberations.

Some conservative members have claimed that Twitter unfairly removes or moderates posts based on ideological grounds, and the platform has become a focal point for them. Twitter has denied this, claiming that it enforces standards based on community guidelines.