A federal court on Friday ordered Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top officials to testify under oath at depositions in a case that’s uncovered evidence of alleged federal government collusion with big tech companies to censor users.
The attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri and other plaintiffs allege that Fauci, director of NIAID and President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, and other defendants, colluded and coerced social media companies to “suppress disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content” regarding COVID-19.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty went a step further than a previous ruling that forced written testimonies and ordered Fauci and other defendants to testify under oath at depositions.
“After finding documentation of a collusive relationship between the Biden Administration and social media companies to censor free speech, we immediately filed a motion to get these officials under oath,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said in a statement.
“It is high time we shine a light on this censorship enterprise and force these officials to come clean to the American people, and this ruling will allow us to do just that. We’ll keep pressing for the truth.”
🚨 🚨🚨 The court has granted our request to depose Dr. Anthony Fauci, former White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki, FBI Supervisory
— AG Jeff Landry (@AGJeffLandry) October 21, 2022
Special Agent Elvis Chan, and other Biden Administration officials relating to collusion with social media to suppress free speech.
New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) joined the lawsuit in August, representing renowned epidemiologists Drs. Jayanta Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff, as well as Dr. Aaron Kheriaty and Jill Hines.
NCLA attorney Jenin Younes said she looks forward to learning just how far the accused government officials went to push their COVID-19 “perspective.”
“For the first time, Dr. Fauci and seven other federal officials responsible for running an unlawful censorship enterprise will have to answer questions under oath about the nature and extent of their communications with tech companies,” said Younes in a statement to The Epoch Times.
The judge also ordered the depositions of former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Director of White House Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, CISA Director Jen Easterly, and FBI Supervisory Special Agent Elvis Chan.
