{"id":1768798,"date":"2022-12-09T08:10:45","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T13:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1768798"},"modified":"2022-12-09T08:20:09","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T13:20:09","slug":"judge-blocks-depositions-of-3-high-ranking-biden-officials-in-big-tech-govt-collusion-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-blocks-depositions-of-3-high-ranking-biden-officials-in-big-tech-govt-collusion-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Blocks Depositions of 3 High-Ranking Biden Officials in Big Tech\u2013Govt Collusion Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-blocks-depositions-of-3-high-ranking-biden-officials-in-big-tech-govt-collusion-case%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1768798&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-judge\">judge<\/a> on Dec. 7 ruled that\u00a0three high-ranking officials within the Biden administration will not be required to\u00a0testify under oath at depositions in a lawsuit that alleges federal government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-collusion\">collusion<\/a> with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-big-tech\">Big Tech<\/a>\u00a0companies to censor users.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in October ordered the depositions of\u00a0Surgeon General\u00a0Vivek Murthy, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly, and Rob Flaherty, a deputy assistant to President Joe Biden, as part of a lawsuit brought in May by Republican Attorneys General Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Jeff Landry of Louisiana.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0attorneys general <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/judge-orders-fauci-psaki-top-officials-be-deposed-in-big-tech-censorship-case_4813336.html\">claim<\/a> that high-ranking members of the government colluded and coerced social media companies to \u201csuppress disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content\u201d or what they claimed was \u201cmisinformation\u201d regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-covid-19\">COVID-19<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In November,\u00a0Doughty, a Trump appointee, also\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/judge-says-former-white-house-press-secretary-jen-psaki-must-answer-questions-under-oath_4876822.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a>\u00a0that Jen Psaki, a former White House press secretary who now works for MSNBC, must also sit for a deposition as part of the case.<\/p>\n<p>However on Thursday,\u00a0Doughty <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/63290154\/148\/missouri-v-biden\/\">ruled<\/a> that three of the individuals\u2014Murthy,\u00a0Easterly, and\u00a0Flaherty\u2014will no longer\u00a0be required to appear for a deposition after a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/court-blocks-depositions-of-three-biden-administration-officials_4878887.html\">federal appeals court blocked the move<\/a> last month, stating that\u00a0the judge had failed to\u00a0consider whether alternative and less \u201cintrusive\u201d means could be used to obtain the information being sought.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4754667\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/09\/26\/GettyImages-1240644506-1200x800.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-medium wp-image-4754667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1240644506-600x400-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"   style=\"display:none\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4754667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1240644506-600x400-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Jen Psaki, who was then-White House press secretary, speaks during her final daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, on May 13, 2022. (Drew Angerer\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<h2>Biden Officials Won\u2019t Need to Testify<\/h2>\n<p>As a result,\u00a0Doughty said on Thursday that\u00a0Murthy will no longer be required to appear for a deposition.<\/p>\n<p>The decision came after lawyers for\u00a0Murthy, who the\u00a0attorneys general say ran a \u201cpublic campaign to censor individuals who spread \u2018misinformation\u2019 about COVID-19,\u201d had stated there was no need for his deposition.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, lawyers said that written materials provided by Murthy in response to\u00a0discovery requests would serve as an adequate alternative. Doughty, however, ruled that\u00a0Murthy\u2019s chief of staff,\u00a0Eric Waldo, can take the\u00a0deposition as an alternative.<\/p>\n<p>The depositions were scheduled for early December but Doughty noted on Thursday that this has been extended to Jan. 13, 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Easterly, meanwhile, will also no longer be\u00a0required to do a deposition after the attorneys general claimed she supervises the \u201cnerve center\u201d of federally directed censorship.<\/p>\n<p>While the court found that\u00a0Easterly has personal knowledge to be deposed, Doughty said on Thursday that\u00a0plaintiffs can instead depose their suggested alternative, Brian Scully, an official at CISA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cScully is the most suitable alternative for Easterly based on both Federal Defendants\u2019 and Plaintiffs\u2019 arguments,\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Doughty also said that Flaherty will not need to\u00a0do a deposition and can instead\u00a0provide written discovery and \u201cinterrogatories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schmitt,\u00a0who recently won his bid for U.S. Senate, and Landry, who recently announced he\u2019s running for governor in 2023,\u00a0claim that\u00a0Flaherty \u201callegedly holds ongoing meetings about censorship and content modulation with representatives of social media companies.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4854222\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/11\/10\/Jen-Easterly-1200x800.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-medium wp-image-4854222\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Jen-Easterly-600x400-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Jen Easterly\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4854222\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Jen-Easterly-600x400-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Jen Easterly\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly testifies before Congress in Washington on April 28, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<h2>Flaherty\u2019s Answers Cannot Be \u2018Vague, Evasive\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cAfter considering the arguments of Plaintiffs and Federal Defendants, this Court finds that there is no suitable alternative for Flaherty,\u201d Doughty wrote. \u201cHowever, because written discovery would be less intrusive than a deposition, it is authorized that written discovery be served on Flaherty, such as interrogatories and requests for production of documents, rather than a deposition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Plaintiffs can serve\u00a0Flaherty interrogatories and requests for the production of documents within five days of\u00a0Doughty\u2019s order and the Biden\u00a0deputy assistant must provide them with his answers by no later than Jan. 5, 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Doughty noted, however, that if\u00a0Flaherty\u2019s answers are \u201cvague, evasive, or non-responsive,\u201d\u00a0Schmitt and Landry will be allowed to resubmit a request for his oral deposition.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Doughty noted that the court found Psaki had indicated that she had \u201cpersonal knowledge of high-level White House Officials pressuring social media companies and statements that reinforced threats of adverse legal consequences to social-media platforms if they did not increase censorship of views disfavored by federal officials.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Psaki has attempted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/jen-psaki-biden-administration-try-to-quash-subpoena-of-former-white-house-press-secretary_4844664.html\">quash her deposition,<\/a> claiming that she shouldn\u2019t be \u201cunduly\u201d burdened by having to sit for a deposition, which her lawyers called a \u201cfishing expedition to try to identify additional members of a conspiracy that Plaintiffs have merely alleged to exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet\u00a0Doughty on Thursday ruled that\u00a0Psaki\u2019s testimony is \u201ccrucial for Plaintiffs to identify federal officials who did what Psaki publicly stated they did\u201d and that she must appear for a\u00a0deposition within the extended expedited preliminary injunction-related discovery period.<\/p>\n<p>The White House has denied claims that it colluded with social media companies to censor free speech on multiple topics,\u00a0including COVID-19.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-katabella-roberts\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/ttl7dayERL_WEB_KatabellaRoberts.jpg\" alt=\"Katabella Roberts\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Katabella Roberts is a news writer for The Epoch Times, focusing primarily on the United States, world, and business news.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal judge on Dec. 7 ruled that\u00a0three high-ranking officials within the Biden administration will not be required to\u00a0testify under oath at depositions in a lawsuit that alleges federal government<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1768496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[3620,6183,5458,6926,6924,4167,5387,3638,3819,7073],"class_list":["post-1768798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-biden","tag-blocks","tag-bongino","tag-collusion","tag-depositions","tag-high-ranking","tag-judge","tag-officials","tag-report","tag-tech-govt"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1768798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1768798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1768798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1768496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1768798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1768798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1768798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}