A Louisiana judge has just handed down a ruling that’s sure to make some folks in the White House sweat. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and everyone’s favorite pandemic guru, Dr. Anthony Fauci, have been ordered to cough up their emails to social media companies where they apparently discussed the fine art of censorship and misinformation control.
This all started because Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt—who, shocker, are both Republicans—filed a lawsuit back in May. They’re accusing President Biden’s administration of getting a little too cozy with Big Tech to squash free speech, especially when it comes to topics like elections and, surprise, surprise, COVID-19.
For months, these two GOP crusaders have been locked in a showdown with the White House over which emails need to see the light of day. But on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty finally called it: the Biden administration has 21 days to hand over Fauci and Jean-Pierre’s emails, executive privilege be damned. Doughty, who happens to be a Trump appointee, made it clear that the White House blew its shot at claiming privilege by voluntarily sharing some of these documents with outsiders.
The lawsuit zeroes in on how social media companies handled COVID-19 conspiracy theories and the infamous Hunter Biden’s laptop story. According to Landry and Schmitt, the government has been strong-arming social media companies for years to muzzle any voices they don’t like, all under the Orwellian excuse of fighting “disinformation.”
The Republican attorneys general obtained some records earlier this month. These juicy tidbits revealed that federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, were in bed with Facebook, plotting content moderation like a couple of middle schoolers planning a secret club.
Naturally, Schmitt, who’s eyeing a Senate seat, said that the American people deserve answers on how the federal government has colluded with social media companies to censor free speech on major platforms.
