ACLJ Demands Depositions of Dr. Fauci, Senior FBI Officials, and Other Key Biden Officials in Case of Unconstitutional Censorship of Americans’ Facebook, Instagram, Other Social Media Accounts

We told you about the amicus brief we recently filed in Missouri v. Biden, the case that could end Biden’s unconstitutional targeting and censoring of Americans’ Facebook, Instagram, and other social media posts. The ACLJ is not stopping there.

As background, the Attorneys General of Missouri and Louisiana filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration, alleging it was unconstitutionally censoring the social media accounts of American citizens.

The Attorneys General then filed Motions for Expedited Discovery and a Preliminary Injunction. (Discovery is the process where opposing parties exchange or receive information about certain witnesses and evidence in preparation for trial and often includes transcribed depositions. It is routine in all cases. Here, the Attorneys General filed a Motion for Expedited Discovery as required by FRCP 26(d) in order to support their Motion for a Preliminary Injunction.) A Preliminary Injunction is where an injunction is granted prior to trial, ordering a party to do or refrain from doing an act.

In the course of discovery, the Attorneys General deposed federal officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, FBI Special Agent Elvis Chan, Eric Waldo of the Surgeon General’s Office, Carol Crawford of the CDC, Brian Scully of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Daniel Kimmage of the State Department.

After hearing the case, the district court granted the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in a scathing 155-page ruling and summarized the case as follows:

Plaintiffs allege that Defendants, through public pressure campaigns, private meetings, and other forms of direct communication, regarding what Defendants described as “disinformation,” “misinformation,” and “malinformation,” have colluded with and/or coerced social-media platforms to suppress disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content on social-media platforms.

The judge even called it “Orwellian” and “the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history.” The court then banned the Administration from any further censoring of social media.

This is where the ACLJ came in again. Not only did we file an amicus brief with the 5th Circuit when the case went up on appeal, but we also submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Biden’s DOJ for the depositions the Attorneys General took.

The American people deserve to know just how far the Administration has been willing to go to violate their First Amendment rights. In our FOIA, we requested:

1. All deposition transcripts in the case of Missouri v. Biden, Case No. 3:22-cv-01213 (W.D. La. July 4, 2023), if any, and exhibits, if any, of the following people:

1. President Joseph R. Biden,
2. Karine Jean-Pierre,
3. Ashley Morse,
4. Rob Flaherty,
5. Dori Salcido,
6. Aisha Shah,
7. Sarah Beran,
8. Stuart F. Delery,
9. Mina Hsiang,
10. Dr. Hugh Auchincloss,
11. Andrew Slavitt.

Now we don’t know if President Biden was deposed, but if he was, we’ll find out. We also specifically requested:

5. All deposition transcripts, if any, and exhibits, if any, of Dr. Anthony Fauci in the case of Missouri v. Biden, Case No. 3:22-cv-01213 (W.D. La. July 4, 2023).

6. All deposition transcripts, if any, and exhibits, if any, of Elvis Chan, Special Agent in Charge of the Cyber Branch for the San Francisco Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the case of Missouri v. Biden, Case No. 3:22-cv-01213 (W.D. La. July 4, 2023).

These are believed to be the key players involved in this unconstitutional scheme. We will keep you posted. You can read the entire FOIA request here.