Disclaimer: This article my contain the personal views and opinions of the author.
A federal judge has just ordered the Biden administration to hand over communication documents between the federal government and big tech companies.
U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty, from the Western District of Louisiana, granted an order of discovery sought by Republican Attorney Generals Eric Schmitt from Missouri and Jeff Landry from Louisiana.
On Tuesday, Doughty ruled that there is “good cause” for the discovery process and he set a timetable that included specific deadlines for depositions.
Schmitt and Landry filed a lawsuit in May alleging that Biden and other high-ranking officials from his administration colluded and/or coerced social media companies to suppress “disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content on social medial platforms.”
President Biden and members of his administration, as well as certain social media companies, must turn over documents and answer questions within the next 30 days during a discovery phase, a court ruled.
“In May, Missouri and Louisiana filed a landmark lawsuit against top-ranking Biden Administration officials for allegedly colluding with social media giants to suppress freedom of speech on a number of topics including the origins of COVID-19, the efficacy of masks, and election integrity,” Missouri Republican Senate candidate and current Attorney General Eric Schmitt said.
“Today, the Court granted our motion for discovery, paving the way for my office to gather important documents to get to the bottom of that alleged collusion. This is a huge development.”
The Conservative Brief reported:
The lawsuit alleges that social media companies labeled information as “misinformation” and “disinformation” in violation of the First Amendment and that the federal government went beyond its authority and the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
The lawsuit also said that the now disbanded “Disinformation Governance Board” suppressed information involving the Hunter Biden laptop story prior to the 2020 Presidential election, the lab-leak theory of COVID-19’s origin, the efficiency of masks and COVID-19 lockdowns, and election integrity.
“After the AGs filed a motion for expedited preliminary injunction-related discovery, the Biden administration filed an opposition. The Biden administration argued Louisiana and Missouri don’t have the authority to bring a parens Patria suit – an action to protect citizens unable to protect themselves – against the federal government,” the report said.
The report also added that the administration contended there wasn’t a link between alleged injuries and the government’s alleged actions.
“The administration argued the states can’t meet an ‘injury in fact’ standard, defined as ‘it suffered ‘an invasion of a legally protected interest’ that is ‘concrete,’ ‘particularized,’ and ‘actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.'”
Nina Jankowicz who was the short-lived Disinformation Governance Board head told CNN that the administration didn’t do enough to defend her reputation.
She said that the board was supposed “to bring best practices to bear, and to make sure that we were up with the latest research, the latest trends, in disinformation and countering it and make sure that work was being done in a way that protected freedom of speech, protected civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy.”
Meta, Twitter, and Youtube are some of the companies implicated.
Kick some (_!_) I am so sick of Pelosi and her clowns for installing by mail president and his sidekick that does absolutely NOTHING! In my opinion this charade was all Pelosi and Schumer doings. We need honesty put back in the House and Senate and the RINOs and Democrats are it