House Judiciary panel subpoenas FBI, DOJ over big tech collusion

TORONTO

US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan issued subpoenas to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday in relation to an ongoing censorship investigation.

The committee is specifically requesting communications involving the FBI, the Department of Justice, private companies and other third-party entities, according to a statement by the House Judiciary Committee.

Jordan requested that the FBI and DOJ provide documents about “content moderation and the suppression of disfavored speech online,” the statement said.

In separate letters, Jordan wrote to Wray and Garland, saying that “it is necessary for Congress to gauge the extent to which DOJ officials have coerced, pressured, worked with, or relied upon social media and other tech companies to censor speech.”

On April 18, the committee initially reached out to the FBI and DOJ, urging their voluntary participation in oversight. However, their cooperation thus far has been significantly lacking, according to the statement.

They have furnished only one document: a publicly accessible transcript of FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Elvis Chan's deposition from the case of Missouri v. Biden, it said.

The committee has found evidence that contradicts numerous assertions in Chan's deposition, particularly regarding his interactions with social media platforms.

It said it must first understand the collusion between the government and big tech companies to inform potential legislation.