Conservative influencer Cam Higby set out to embarrass a Democratic congressman's aide over his private life. Instead he handed Rep. Dan Goldman an opening, and the New York Democrat used it to deliver a public dressing-down that left Higby, not the staffer, looking like the story.
Higby, a right-wing content creator who runs the outlet Fearless Media and was credentialed into the Pentagon press corps after most traditional outlets gave up their passes, posted about Goldman's deputy chief of staff, John Blasco. He flagged that Blasco "makes 6 figures, funded by your tax dollars," tied him to an allegation that he "used physical force to stifle press at Delaney Hall while wearing the House seal," and attached personal photographs that appeared to show Blasco, who is openly gay, in nightlife attire. The clear aim was to humiliate.
Goldman, the former lead counsel in Trump's first impeachment, was not having it. "I don't know who you are, @camhigby, but this is a shockingly pathetic and stupid tweet," he wrote. Then came the line that turned the attack around. "I'm sorry you don't feel comfortable in your own skin, but you just told on yourself."
The congressman defended his aide in unsparing terms. "John is an incredible person and public servant who has served New York City with dedication, compassion and grace, qualities you apparently do not have," Goldman wrote. He drew a sharp line around his staff while inviting Higby to aim at him instead. "I'm the member of Congress. You can come for me but stay away from my staff. I will stand with John today, tomorrow, and every day." He signed off with two words: "Do better."
The replies quickly amplified Goldman's framing rather than Higby's. The thrust of the backlash was that posting a man's private photos as a supposed scandal revealed more about the poster's hangups than about the target, exactly the "you told on yourself" point Goldman had made.
Ex-GOP lawmaker Adam Kinzinger also weighed in, simply stating, "But you support an Epstein dude."
Blasco is no anonymous functionary. He has been a visible part of Goldman's office during its high-profile immigration oversight work, accompanying the congressman on visits to detention facilities and helping coordinate assistance for detained families. In one account of that work, Goldman's office described bringing insulin to a diabetic detainee and intervening for a young man with autism whose family feared he would not get his medication. Blasco describes himself publicly as an "unapologetic Queer Boricua," a Brooklyn cyclist and gamer, the kind of biographical detail Higby's post tried to weaponize and that Goldman flipped into a point of pride.
Higby has built his profile on viral confrontation, from a campus debate tour to posting Signal chat screenshots from Minneapolis that he billed as proof of a conspiracy, material the FBI cited to open an investigation that legal experts said showed no illegal activity. The Blasco post fit the pattern of generating a spectacle, except this time the spectacle rebounded on him.