Blogger Who Posted Vance’s Personal Information Permanently Banned From X

Ken Klippenstein shared the 271-page opposition research file on Vance to his X account last Thursday, a platform where he had over 500,000 followers. His original post was initially flagged by X for failing to delete “several references” to a home address for Vance that was within the dossier, as well as the first several digits of his Social Security number.

Though he later redacted the information and posted an updated dossier, Klippenstein was sent an email Monday morning stating he had been permanently banned from X, according to an interview he conducted with Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie. Klippenstein’s report on the dossier remains posted to his Substack account.

Three federal agencies confirmed in August that Iran was behind “recently reported activities to compromise former President Trump’s campaign” that leaked a multitude of documents hacked from the campaign to media outlets. The FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s joint statement came after media outlets such as Politico and the New York Times said it had received suspicious documents, including the Vance dossier, that appeared to have been stolen from the Trump campaign.

While all of the major media outlets declined to publish the contents of the dossier, Klippenstein defended his decision to do so. Saying he provided vital “context” that it was from Iranian hackers, he stated his firm belief that the public should be able “to go in themselves and make their own determination.”

“At the end of the day, I just really have faith that people are mature enough to be able to adjudicate these things and think it through,” he said.