Pierre Delecto anonymous Twitter account revealed to Mitt Romney

US Republican Senator Mitt Romney has revealed he uses a secret Twitter account under the name Pierre Delecto. Asked about an account attributed to user "Pierre Delecto" by The Atlantic's McKay Coppins on Sunday night, the Utah Republican and 2012 GOP 

Presidential nominee replied, "'C'est moi,'" or "it's me." Romney explained in an Atlantic profile that he maintains a secret Twitter account, and a Slate investigation linked the Pierre Delecto account to him. The Utah senator and former governor of Massachusetts is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican. It is unknown why he chose the account name, Pierre Delecto.

The account has since been made private, but according to screenshots of his posts taken by reporters, Romney appears to have primarily used the Twitter profile to anonymously defend himself from posts or comments on the social media platform that he felt were unfair.

Why it matters: As Delecto, Romney liked tweets critical of President Trump, who has attacked Romney on Twitter in the past. The senator also occasionally used the account to defend himself against detractors.

"Only Republican to hit Trump on Mueller report, only one to hit Trump on character time and again, so Soledad, you think he's the one without the moral compass?" tweeted Delecto in response.

How was his secret exposed? News first broke of the secret Twitter account in a profile piece written by McKay Coppins in The Atlantic.

When conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin tweeted that Romney's way of dealing with Trump was "nonconfrontation verging on spinelessness," Delecto replied, "Jennifer, you need to take a breath. Maybe you can then acknowledge the people who agree with you in large measure even if not in every measure."

Who is Pierre Delecto? All this was not enough for Slate journalist Ashley Feinberg, who launched an investigation into what possible account the senator could be using.

Who is Mitt Romney? Mr Romney ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2012, losing to incumbent Barack Obama. Since January 2019, he has served as the junior US senator from Utah.