The House Judiciary Committee is suing FBI agent Elvis Chan for violating a Congressional subpoena for a deposition related to allegations of collusion with social media companies to censor federal speech. FOX News Digital reported.
The committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), said Mr. Chan served as the “key liaison” between the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force and social media companies.
House Judicial Court subpoena for documents related to alleged collusion with major tech companies, FBI investigating
The commission first issued a subpoena in September 2023 after Mr. Chan refused to voluntarily appear for a transcribed interview in March 2023.
Congressman Jim Jordan speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 20, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The deposition, or interview, was requested and later forced as part of the committee’s investigation into the “extent and nature” of the FBI’s involvement in alleged online speech censorship.
The House Judiciary Committee filed a 46-page lawsuit Tuesday against Chan “in his official capacity as an assistant special agent” for the FBI.
“After public reports revealed that the executive branch coerced and colluded with technology companies and other intermediaries to censor online speech, the Judiciary Committee We have launched an investigation into how and to what extent the agency sought to disrupt “the marketplace of ideas and suppress the voices of the American people,” the lawsuit states. “The ultimate objective of this investigation is to identify new legal restrictions on the ability of the executive branch to restrict the circulation of content online and work with social media companies and other entities to deplatform users. The goal is to develop legal reforms, and to do that the committee must first fully understand the nature of the problem.”
The complaint cites publicly available information showing that Chan “was a central figure in the FBI’s interactions with technology companies such as Facebook and Twitter,” and the committee said that Chan was “immediately identified as a central figure in the investigation.” “We have identified the following.”
“In fact, Mr. Chan described himself as ‘one of the first people to know pass-through information,’ which is information that companies use to decide whether to restrict online content,” the complaint states. is stated.
House Arms Committee: Biden administration ‘colluded’ with big tech companies to ‘facilitate censorship of Americans’
The complaint further states that Chan failed to comply with the subpoena after receiving “instructions not to appear in court” from the Justice Department, which Chan complied with.
FBI building in Washington DC (Brooks Kraft/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images))
“By refusing to comply with the subpoena, Mr. Chan is dissatisfied with the commission’s ability to conduct oversight, an important part of the legislative power the Constitution gives Congress,” the complaint states.
The complaint says the Justice Department directed Mr. Chan not to appear “solely because, under House rules, agency attorneys (lawyers who represent the interests of the executive branch, not Mr. Chan’s) are unable to attend.” He explains.
“The Department of Justice asserts that subpoenas that compel the testimony of government agency employees regarding their official duties without the presence of agency counsel are unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable,” the complaint states. has been done.
Avril Haines of Odney represented in the House of Commons Judicial Court on records related to alleged collusion with major tech companies
The commission has asked the court to declare that Chan’s refusal to appear “lacks legal legitimacy” and issue an injunction ordering him to appear “immediately” and testify. I hope.
The Justice Department and FBI declined to comment.
Asked if the committee would move to hold Chan in contempt of Congress, a source told Fox News Digital that “everything is on the table.”
Chan was also mentioned in Missouri v. Biden and appeared in a civil deposition.
The House Judiciary Committee’s investigation is ongoing.
Last month, the committee issued a subpoena to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines for documents as part of an investigation into the Biden administration’s alleged collusion with big tech companies and their intermediaries to “censor speech.”
Jordan said that through its investigation, the committee found that the federal government “pressured Big Tech and other intermediaries to censor certain views on social media in ways that undermined First Amendment principles. He said he found that the two parties were colluding.
Last February, as part of his investigation, Jordan subpoenaed the CEOs of Google, Amazon, Facebook and other companies to produce documents related to allegations of government collusion. big tech companies For “suppressing freedom of speech”.
Mr. Jordan last year also subpoenaed the Justice Department and FBI for documents related to the investigation.
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The investigation comes after Republicans have long warned of Big Tech’s censorship and bias against conservatives.
Separately, the Supreme Court in October ruled that the Biden administration and Big Tech have Agreed to reconsider court-ordered prohibitions on certain communications to and from the platform. About fighting misinformation. ” They argued that this ultimately led to censorship of speech on topics such as Hunter Biden’s laptop, the origins of COVID-19, and the effectiveness of face masks.
Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.
