(CBrief) – A pair of federal judges delivered a striking blow to the Biden administration in two major cases.
A federal judge ordered the Biden administration to hand over communication documents between the federal government and big tech companies.
U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty, of the Western District of Louisiana, granted the order of discovery sought by Republican Attorneys General Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Jeff Landry of Louisiana.
President Joe Biden, members of his administration, and select social media companies must turn over documents and answer questions within the next 30 days during a discovery phase of a lawsuit alleging collusion to suppress freedom of speech, a court ruled.
The attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri filed a lawsuit in May alleging Biden and eight high-ranking members of his administration and the government colluded with and/or coerced social media companies Meta, Twitter, and YouTube to suppress “disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content on social medial platforms.”
On Tuesday, Terry Doughty, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, ruled there is “good cause” for the discovery process and set a timetable, including specific deadlines for depositions.
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.
Judge Doughty ordered White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Dr. Anthony Fauci to turn over any emails they sent to social media companies about misinformation or the censorship of social media content.
“This Court believes Plaintiffs are entitled to external communications by Jean-Pierre and Dr. Fauci in their capacities as White House Press Secretary and Chief Medical Advisor to the President to third-party social media platforms,” Doughty wrote.
“The ruling is part of a lawsuit filed in May by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, accusing the Biden administration of working with social media companies to suppress free speech, particularly surrounding COVID-19 and elections. For the past four months, the attorneys general and the White House have been arguing over which documents need to be produced in the lawsuit,” Kansas City Star reported.
“The White House launched a campaign last year that aimed at spurring Facebook and other social media giants to do more to combat misinformation about COVID on their platforms, a move which angered many on the political right. Schmitt, who is the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Missouri, has often used his role as Missouri attorney general to file lawsuits against the Biden administration around issues that resonate with his conservative base,” the report added.
In a press release, Schmitt’s office celebrated the ruling.
“The American people deserve answers on how the federal government has colluded with social media companies to censor free speech on these major platforms,” Schmitt wrote. “We will continue to fight to uncover more of this vast censorship enterprise.”
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