Exclusive: The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday subpoenaed Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to produce documents as part of an investigation into allegations that the Biden administration colluded with big tech companies and their intermediaries to “censor speech.”
Fox News Digital reviewed the subpoena issued to Haines on Thursday and a letter sent to her by the commission's chairman, Jim Jordan. Jordan, R-Ohio, is seeking communications related to “collusion and coercion” between Haines' office, private companies, nonprofits and other third parties.
Representative Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
House Judicial Court subpoena for documents related to alleged collusion with major tech companies, FBI investigating
But Jordan said ODNI's “non-procedural response has so far been woefully inadequate.” Mr. Jordan requested voluntary cooperation and requested relevant documents as part of the investigation in April 2023.
Jordan said that despite communications between the committee and ODNI staff, ODNI “has not yet provided a single document in response to the committee's request.”
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 discovered that the two parties had colluded with each other.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines attends a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jordan asks conservative censors for Big Tech records detailing 'collusion' with Biden administration
“The First Amendment prohibits government officials from imposing viewpoint-based speech restrictions,” Jordan wrote. “The state action doctrine prohibits government officials from circumventing constitutional constraints by using private actors, through coercion, encouragement, cronies, or joint participation, to accomplish things that the government cannot directly accomplish. ”
Jordan said the investigation revealed that the Biden administration is “arming federal power to censor online speech directly or by proxy,” adding, “The extent to which ODNI officials have used coercion, coercion, “He emphasized the importance of Congress' efforts to measure cooperation.” He also relied on social media and other technology companies to censor speech. ”
Mr. Jordan went on to say that the committee obtained documents showing that ODNI officials were invited to meetings with major social media companies and federal agencies, but that ODNI, despite repeated requests, did not provide any information related to them. He stated that he had not submitted any records.
“Under House rules, the committee has the authority to oversee 'civil liberties' matters to inform potential legislative changes,” Jordan wrote.
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“Therefore, in view of ODNI's woefully inadequate voluntary compliance, please find attached a subpoena seeking the Commission's top priority documents and information,” Jordan wrote. .
This subpoena compels ODNI to produce all documents and communications that refer to or relate to the moderation, removal, suppression, restriction, or reduction in circulation of content on social media platforms. The agency will also be required to create records related to its content moderation policy.
The subpoena also compels ODNI to produce records addressing ODNI's identification or analysis of suspected “misinformation,” “disinformation,” or “malformations.” Documents related to meetings with social media companies. more.
The subpoena requires records to be produced by 9 a.m. ET on February 9.
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In February last year, as part of an investigation, Jordan accused the CEOs of Google, Amazon, Facebook and others that the government had “colluded” with big tech companies to “suppress free speech.” He was subpoenaed to produce documents related to the allegations.
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 including Hunter Biden's laptop, the origins of COVID-19, the effectiveness of face masks, and more.
