House Judiciary Panel Subpoenas FBI And DOJ Over Biden, Big Tech Collusion
On Thursday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sued the FBI and Justice Department Director Jim Jordan in multiple lawsuits alleging their agencies' collaboration with big tech companies to stem the spread of objectionable language.
Jordan (Ohio) has asked the FBI and Department of Justice to release a number of documents, including communications with private companies and third parties, "related to the moderation of content and the suppression of inappropriate speech online."
"Congress should measure the extent to which Justice Department officials have coerced, pressured, cooperated with, or relied on social media and other tech companies to censor speech," Jordan wrote in separate letters to the FBI director. Garland.
Jordan wrote to Garland and Ray as early as April 18, asking them to cooperate with his commission on a wide-ranging investigation.
In response, the president said law enforcement agencies had released a transcript of testimony by San Francisco FBI agent Elvis Chan as part of a civil lawsuit filed by the Louisiana and Missouri attorneys general against the Biden administration.
"During its investigation, the commission uncovered evidence that contradicted several statements made by Officer Chan during his testimony, particularly regarding his social media posts," Jordan said.
"This production is highly inappropriate and excludes highly reactive material, including communications between [DOJ/FBI] and technology companies, internal communications, and communications between [DOJ/FBI] and other law enforcement agencies."
Earlier this month, the federal government's weapons subcommittee in Jordan upheld a lawsuit from Louisiana and Missouri alleging that the Biden administration violated First Amendment rights with its content-reporting apparatus.
Jordan and other Republicans filed a lawsuit to bolster states' claims that the government had colluded with illegal tech giants to restrict Americans' free speech.
In his sentencing letters, Jordan referenced that statement, citing the Post's story that Hunter Biden's laptop was disabled by the social media giant in the closing weeks of the 2020 campaign, despite an FBI official confirming Twitter's legitimacy. The story became known.
"The commission's investigation, along with other public reports and published findings, Missouri v. Biden, has shown how the federal government has pressured Big Tech and other intermediaries to censor certain viewpoints," Jordan wrote. .
On July 4, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana barred the Biden administration from moderating certain content in communications with the social media giants while the lawsuits are pending.
That order was rejected by the New Orleans Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, while the White House appealed Doughty's original order.
"The Department, including the FBI, does not censor content on social media platforms," a Justice Department spokesman told the Post.
"Private companies have sole decision-making power to protect their platforms and users," the spokesman added. "As with all inquiries from the Commission, the Department remains committed to working with the Commission to meet its information needs."
In a separate statement, the FBI told the Post that it "will endeavor to cooperate in good faith with the commission."
"The FBI does not censor content on social media," he continued. "We are a law enforcement and intelligence agency mandated to lawfully work with corporations to protect our communities from child predators and terrorists, as well as from hostile foreign powers like China, Russia and Iran, who exploit social media platforms to commit crimes to commit or threaten to commit a crime.: National security.
"If the FBI discovers information that suggests a hostile foreign actor is hiding behind a social media account, we will share that information with the company. Social media companies decide what actions they take on their platforms for their customers.”
