A federal court has approved a request by Missouri and Louisiana officials to obtain information and documents from high-ranking officials in the Biden administration regarding its alleged collusion with social media giants in an effort to censor and stifle freedom. of the word.
Eric Schmitt, the Republican attorney general of Missouri, announced on social media on July 13 that Terry Doughty, a judge in the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, had ruled in favor of the discovery process request.
The ruling clears the way for attorneys general to collect documents from senior Biden administration officials and social media giants.
In court documents (pdf) released by Schmitt, Doughty wrote that there is “good cause” for an expedited discovery of the preliminary injunction.
The judge, a Trump appointee, also gave a deadline by which federal officials and social media platforms must turn over the documents.
Plaintiff states can send requests for documents and information from government officials and third-party subpoenas to up to five major social media platforms seeking to identify which federal officials allegedly communicated with them within five business days of the decision.
The decision was made on July 12.
Federal officials and social media platforms must also submit documents and respond to questions from officials from both states within the next 30 days, the judge ruled.
‘Disadvantaged printed speakers’
The decision comes after the attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri filed a lawsuit in May alleging that the Biden administration “conspired and/or coerced social media companies to suppress disfavored speakers, views and content on social media platforms by labeling the content.” disinformation”. , ‘disinformation’ and ‘misinformation'”.
Attorneys general named social media giants such as Meta, Twitter and YouTube in a press release announcing the lawsuit in May.
They also claimed that President Joe Biden himself, along with other high-ranking government officials, had worked with the platforms to censor and suppress free speech, including “true information” about the origins of COVID-19, the effectiveness of masks, elections. the integrity and security of postal voting, and the ongoing Hunter Biden laptop scandal.
Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are Biden, former press secretary Jen Psaki, the president’s chief medical adviser and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Disinformation Governance Board Executive Director Nina Jankowicz, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and others.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that officials “pressured and colluded with social media giants Meta, Twitter, and YouTube to censor free speech in the name of combating so-called “misinformation” and “disinformation,” which led to suppressing and censoring truthful information on certain topics, including COVID-19.”
The complaint also alleges that the US Department of Homeland Security’s Disinformation Governance Board was created “to encourage, label, and pressure censorship of disfavored content, views, and speakers on social media platforms.”
The lawsuit alleges that the alleged suppression of free speech and collusion violate First Amendment protections and constitute action in excess of statutory authority.
He also alleges that the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
Missouri and Louisiana filed a motion for expedited preliminary discovery related to the preliminary injunction on June 17, 2022.
In the announcement of the court’s decision to fulfill the request of the general prosecutor, Schmitt said on Twitter, “Nobody’s had the chance to look under the hood before – now we do.”
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Katabella Roberts is a reporter currently based in Turkey. She covers news and business for The Epoch Times, focusing primarily on the United States.
