03/06/2023 | Press release | Archived content
Evidence presented by AGs of LA, MO showing federal "Censorship Enterprise" is voluminous and overwhelming.
MONROE, LA - Continuing their fight to protect the constitutional liberties of all Americans, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey have filed their motion for a preliminary injunction in their landmark free speech lawsuit Missouri v. Biden. After receiving thousands of internal federal documents, the attorneys general are asking the court to block top officials in the federal government from coercing and colluding with Big Tech to violate Americans' right to free speech under the First Amendment. The legal filing highlights 1,432 facts showing that top officials at the White House and other federal agencies are coercing and colluding with social media platforms to censor free speech.
"The overwhelming evidence is clear: the highest levels of our federal government are suppressing the First Amendment rights of Americans who have opposing views," said Attorney General Landry. "This egregious and unlawful viewpoint censorship by the White House, FBI, CDC, CISA, and other agencies not only chills speech; but it also unjustly inflicts grave and irreparable injuries on citizens and states, whose duty it is to protect their fundamental rights."
"As Attorney General, I will protect the Constitution, which includes defending the fundamental right to free speech enshrined in the First Amendment. The First Amendment is the cornerstone of our republic because the founders understood that the remedy to false speech has always been counter speech, not government censorship," said Attorney General Bailey. "This case is the most important free speech lawsuit in a generation, as we showcase more than 1,400 facts showing the Biden Administration's blatant coercion and collusion with Big Tech social media companies to suppress speech it disagrees with. I will not rest until the court blocks unelected bureaucrats from violating our constitutional right to free and open debate."
Attorneys General Landry and Bailey establish, beyond dispute, unconscionable federal censorship activities - including, but not limited to:
"Altogether, these censorship activities by federal officials and agencies constitute a gargantuan federal "Censorship Enterprise." This enterprise is highly effective-it has stifled debate and criticism of government policy on social media about some of the most pressing issues of our time. And its activities are flagrantly unconstitutional," noted Attorneys General Landry and Bailey in their request of the Court to stop to these egregious violations of the First Amendment.
Missouri v. Biden was filed by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana on May 5, 2022. They filed for a motion for discovery on June 17, 2022; and that motion was granted on July 12, 2022, clearing the way for Missouri and Louisiana to gather discovery and documents from the Biden Administration and social media companies.
Missouri and Louisiana deposed top-ranking officials in the federal government under oath, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, FBI Special Agent Elvis Chan, Eric Waldo of the Surgeon General's Office, Carol Crawford of the CDC, Brian Scully of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Daniel Kimmage of the State Department.