Name: Judge Orders Fauci, Other Top Officials to Produce Records for Big Tech–Government Censorship Lawsuit
Uploaded: 2025-01-04T21:16:27.000Z
Description: Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and other top Biden administration officials who were resisting efforts to obtain their communications with Big Tech companies must hand over the records, a federal judge ruled on Sept. 6.

Arian Pasdar is an international correspondent for NTD News based in South America. His reporting focuses on immigration and key events in Latin America.

Arian Pasdar

NTD Plus

News

News with integrity, from the United States and around the world. Focused reports and analyses that shed light on major issues the world deserves to know. NTD Evening News airs daily at 6 p.m. ET.

NTD Evening News

Ukraine Says Russia Used North Korean Missiles in Latest Barrage Killing 13 Civilians 

Jason Blair is a national correspondent for NTD News based in California. 

Jason Blair

Justice Department Uncovers $350 Million in Alleged Fraud Across Southeast

Jack Bradley is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Jack previously anchored "NTD Newsroom" and worked as an assistant producer for the show. 

Jack Bradley

Trump Renews Criticism Over China's COVID Cover-up

Nikou Bani

GanJing World Hosts #BeKindBeCool Award Ceremony in Times Square

Christina Corona is a California-based reporter for NTD News. She primarily covers California news, politics, and entertainment.  

Christina Corona

FBI Displays Drones Seized Across Los Angeles During World Cup

Jason Perry is an Army veteran and NTD's national security correspondent. Jason primarily covers border security, national defense, foreign wars, and veterans' issues.

Jason Perry

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

World News

International

Spain Deploys Military to Ceuta After Thousands of Illegal Immigrants Breach Morocco's Border; At Least 18 Dead

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

Trump's 'Freedom Haulers' Solves 2 Problems at the Same Time: Analyst

Dave Martin is NTD's Senior Sports Reporter and sports analyst. He also hosts "Data Hub" segments during NTD's special election coverage, "The Nation Decides."

Dave Martin

Police: Tony Romo Had Open Container of Alcohol in Vehicle

Jacki Thrapp is an Emmy® Award-winning journalist based in Nashville. She previously worked at The New York Post, Fox News Channel and has written a series of Off-Broadway musicals in NYC. Contact her at jacki.thrapp@epochtimes.us

Jacki Thrapp

Arleen Richards is NTD's legal correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers all major legal stories. Arleen holds a Doctor of Law (J.D.).


Arleen Richards

US News

State News

Georgia

Father of Apalachee High School Shooter Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

Sam Wang is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Sam covers politics on Capitol Hill, and U.S.-China relations. 

Sam Wang

Americans React: Should Congress Pass the SAVE America Act?

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 30)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 29)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 28)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 27)

Chris Beers is an NTD News anchor and political correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Chris co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Chris Beers

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 26)

Paul Greaney is an NTD news anchor and producer. Since joining the company in 2018, he has anchored the station’s flagship Evening News broadcast, launched the NTD Business show, and produced documentary reports on pointed issues. 

The highlight of Paul’s time in the field was his coverage of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Paul Greaney

Full Episodes

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 25)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 24)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 23)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 22)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 21)

Tom Gantert is a reporter for The Epoch Times.

Tom Gantert

Melina Wisecup is NTD's congressional correspondent based in Washington, covering Capitol Hill and campaign politics.

Melina Wisecup

Politics

Executive Branch

Trump Uses Recent Speeches to Warn Americans of Resurging Communism

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

Shows

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

2.8 Million People in China Evacuated Amid Typhoon Bavi

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Breaking news and in-depth analysis from the United States and beyond. We bring you the latest updates, exclusive insights, and sharp discussions on the most pressing issues. NTD Newsroom airs Monday–Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

US Announces Visa Restrictions Targeting Cybercriminals

NTD Movies

NTD+ Movies

The Unrestricted War

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Congress

House Passes Legislation to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

Troy Myers is a regional reporter based in St. Augustine, Florida. His background includes breaking, criminal justice, and investigative writing for local news, producing on a national morning newscast in Washington, D.C., and working with an award-winning, weekly investigative news program. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his dog at the beach.

Troy Myers

Courts

Appeals Court Upholds Block on Trump Order to Tighten Mail-In Voting, Citizenship Verification

Sen. Lindsey Graham Likely Died After Aorta Tear, Medical Examiner Says

Bringing you the latest videos, livestreams, and premieres.


NTD Videos

Label

Live

NTD+ Live

Trump Makes an Announcement on Freedom Hauler in the White House

Mary Man is a writer for NTD. She has traveled around the world covering China, international news, and arts and culture.

Mary Man

China News

China Floods: Thousands at Risk After Multiple Dams Collapse in Guangxi

Jackson Richman is a Washington correspondent for The Epoch Times. In addition to Washington politics, he covers the intersection of politics and sports/sports and culture. He previously was a writer at Mediaite and Washington correspondent at Jewish News Syndicate. His writing has also appeared in The Washington Examiner. He is an alum of George Washington University.

Jackson Richman

House Passes Defense Policy Bill That Attaches SAVE America Act

Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and other top Biden administration officials who were resisting efforts to obtain their communications with Big Tech companies must hand over the records, a federal judge ruled on Sept. 6.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee, <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/federal-judge-orders-biden-administration-to-cooperate-in-social-media-collusion-lawsuit_4595222.html">ordered the government</a> to quickly produce documents after <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/2-gop-led-states-sue-biden-administration-for-pressuring-and-colluding-with-big-tech-to-censor-free-speech_4449673.html">it was sued</a> by the attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri over alleged collusion with Big Tech firms such as Facebook. The initial tranche of discovery, <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/over-50-biden-administration-employees-12-us-agencies-involved-in-social-media-censorship-push-documents_4704349.html">released on Aug. 31</a>, revealed that more than 50 government officials across a dozen agencies were involved in applying pressure to social media companies to censor users.

But some of the officials refused to provide any answers, or answer all questions posed by the plaintiffs. Among them: Fauci, who serves as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.

The government <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/many-of-faucis-emails-with-zuckerberg-should-be-shielded-from-lawsuit-government-says_4705309.html">claimed</a> that Fauci should not be required to answer all questions or provide records in his capacity as NIAID director or in his capacity as Biden's chief medical adviser. It also attempted to withhold records and responses from Jean-Pierre.

In <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22275721-discovery-order">the new ruling</a> on Tuesday breaking the stalemate, Doughty said both Fauci and Jean-Pierre needed to comply with the interrogatories and record requests.

"First, the requested information is obviously very relevant to Plaintiffs’ claims. Dr. Fauci’s communications would be relevant to Plaintiffs’ allegations in reference to alleged suppression of speech relating to the lab-leak theory of COVID-19’s origin, and to alleged suppression of speech about the efficiency of masks and COVID-19 lockdowns. Jean-Pierre’s communications as White House Press Secretary could be relevant to all of Plaintiffs’ examples," Doughty said, referring to examples such as the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 presidential election and censorship of claims COVID-19 originated in a Chinese laboratory.

Doughty ordered Fauci and Jean-Pierre to comply within 21 days.

Fauci, additionally, must provide complete answers to questions regarding his role as NIAID director.

“We know from the previous round of discovery that efforts to censor the speech of those who disagree with the government on covid policy have come from the top. Americans deserve to know Anthony Fauci’s participation in this enterprise, especially since he has publicly demanded that specific individuals, including two of our clients, Jay Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff, be censored on social media," Jenin Younes, litigation counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance and a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

"It is time for Dr. Fauci to answer for his flagrant disregard for Americans’ constitutional rights and civil liberties," she added.

Martin Kulldorff, epidemiologist and statistician, at his home in Ashford, Conn., on Feb. 11, 2022. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)


<h2>HHS</h2>
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the parent agency of NIAID, was also trying to avoid giving answers or documents in the legal battle, even though discovery from Big Tech companies revealed key HHS officials as participating in what plaintiffs have described as a "censorship enterprise."

Both HHS and the Department of Homeland Security objected to attempts to get the agencies to search widely for relevant records, describing the attempts as "unduly burdensome and disproportionate to the needs of the case." HHS identified NIAID, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Office of the Surgeon General as three subagencies that would likely have the records sought.

Plaintiffs said that HHS was effectively exempting itself from the discovery process.

Doughty agreed with HHS that conducting a search for relevant records among all 80,000 HHS employees would be overly burdensome, but said the HHS employees identified in documents from Meta, Facebook's parent company, as engaging with the company needed to respond to the discovery requests.

He ordered the HHS officials, including the HHS deputy digital director, to provide responses within 21 days.
<h2>Amended Complaint</h2>
Government officials identified 45 officials across five agencies as officials who communicate with social media companies about misinformation and censorship. But emails and other documents provided by Meta, Twitter, and Google in the case show a number of other officials, including officials at other agencies and the White House, were involved in the effort.

Further, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently disclosed that the FBI reached out about disinformation before the 2020 election. Soon after that, Facebook suppressed the circulation of the first Hunter Biden laptop story.

"With each of these new revelations, Plaintiffs have approached Defendants and requested that they supplement their discovery responses to include responsive communications from the newly disclosed federal officials. Defendants have refused to do so, on the grounds that none of these newly discovered officials have been sued or served with discovery as yet, and that it would be unduly burdensome to identify and produce their communications," the plaintiffs said in a recent filing.

The plaintiffs asked to file an amended complaint naming all of the identified officials as defendants to address the issues.

They said the amended filing would enable the serving of requests for records and information to each of the officials who were not initially disclosed by the government.

Doughty said that plaintiffs could file within 30 days an amended complaint within 30 days adding additional agencies and/or individuals.

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/judge-orders-fauci-other-top-officials-to-produce-records-in-big-tech-government-censorship-lawsuit_4714820.html">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Videos

Business News

01_Lead Story

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

Big tech

Anthony Fauci

Censorship &amp; Cancel Culture

Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at zack.stieber@epochtimes.com

Zachary Stieber

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.

Judge Orders Fauci, Other Top Officials to Produce Records for Big Tech–Government Censorship Lawsuit

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 31)

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.