‘Willfully disregarded’ judicial authority
Bob Unruh
WND News Center
Whistleblowers have revealed to Congress the FBI essentially blew off an order from a federal court judge that bans officials from Joe Biden’s administration from meeting with Big Tech corporations to scheme about censoring messages Americans are allowed to hear.
The Washington Times revealed that testimony came Monday to the House Judiciary Committee.
The whistleblowers told members the FBI’s leaders simply didn’t take any steps to follow the judge’s temporary injunction.
The committee heard that in ordinary circumstances, the FBI would disseminate details immediately to employees, and provide training if needed, so that agents follow new legal guidances or directives.
The report said, however, when U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana issued his injunction against Biden’s censorship plans, “FBI Director Christopher Wray and his lieutenants never took steps to comply.”
The report explained right after the order, which was dated July 4, the White House claimed the Department of Justice was looking at the instructions. Then two days later it appealed.
The Times report explained, “Whistleblowers have been in the spotlight in Washington as a flood of FBI workers came forward with allegations of politically motivated investigations, politically biased leadership and misconduct by senior officials at America’s premier law enforcement agency.”
The disclosures given to Congress stated, “Neither FBI Director Wray nor FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate issued bureau-wide emails to address the issue with the agents, task force officers, and analysts that may in the course of their duties have contact with the social media companies.
“In doing so, Director Wray and Deputy Director Abbate have willfully disregarded the judicial authority and limitations that federal courts have over the FBI.”
The Times said the disclosures also revealed: “The federal court decision may impact communications between multiple FBI employees. It may also impact the taskings of FBI executives who have retired, gone to work for social media companies, and then became paid informants (Confidential Human Sources) for the FBI while working for the social media companies. It may also impact undercover employees who are secretly working for social media companies.”
The agents also said there was no assessment of what kind of contacts they already had, and are using.
Doughty barred multiple federal agencies along with the FBI from “engaging in various types of communication with social media companies.” He also barred them from “pressuring” companies to censor posts.
The case had been brought by officials in Missouri and Louisiana, alleging the federal government went way too far in censoring social media comments that conflicted with official government propaganda.
The judge said, “evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.'”
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