Judiciary calls on DOJ to provide documents already part of lawsuit

Bob Unruh
WND News Center

The House Judiciary Committee, now being run by Republicans, is demanding the details of Biden administration-Big Tech censorship schemes.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the chairman, has dispatched a letter to the Department of Justice insisting on copies of all documents that already have been produced in a lawsuit, Missouri v. Biden.

That’s a civil case demonstrating how the federal government colluded with Big Tech to violate the First Amendment rights of Americans.

“The committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of the executive branch’s efforts to sidestep the First Amendment by coercing and coordinating with private companies, including social media platforms, to suppress free speech and censor content online,” the letter explains.

“As part of our oversight, we write to request a discrete set of documents and information that the Department of Justice has produced as part of discovery in federal litigation over the same subject matter.”

It was last May when the states of Missouri and Louisiana sued the Biden administration over free speech violations.

“Documents produced to the states as part of this litigation include communications between executive branch officials and employees of social media companies. These documents appear to reveal that the executive branch repeatedly pressured social media platforms to censor certain viewpoints,” the announcement said.

“Congress has an important interest in protecting and advancing fundamental free speech principles, including by examining how the executive branch coordinates with or coerces private actors to suppress First Amendment-protected speech. The Judiciary Committee, in particular, has jurisdiction under the Rules of the House of Representatives over American civil liberties. As Congress continues to examine how to best protect Americans’ fundamental freedoms, the documents discovered and produced during the Missouri v. Biden litigation are necessary to assist Congress in understanding the problem and evaluating potential legislative reforms. Accordingly, we ask that you please produce all of the documents that the Department has produced thus far in the Missouri v. Biden litigation.”

A deadline is set at 5 p.m. on Feb. 22.

A report on the demand at Just the News said Jordan wants the same documents the DOJ already gave to the court in the case in which Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry alleged federal collusion with Big Tech.

Jordan has “taken center stage as House Republicans launch a bevy of investigations seeking to explore the Biden administration and the president’s private business activities as well,” the report said.

Jordan already has subpoenaed Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray to start getting some answers.