House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Tuesday sent letters to Big Tech executives, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, demanding documents related to the White House's "recent interactions with social media and technology companies," according to a press release.
On March 20, an FBI spokesperson confirmed that the Bureau's Foreign Influence Task Force had resumed communication with Big Tech and social media companies.
Jordan sent letters Tuesday to Garland and Wray, as well as the CEOs of Amazon; Microsoft; Apple; Meta; and Alphabet, which owns Google, in regard to "what extent the Executive Branch has coerced or colluded with companies and other intermediaries to censor lawful speech."
This inquiry is part of a broader examination by the committee into the government's continued overreach in regulating free expression.
Additionally, the committee has called upon three former officials from the Biden White House to provide testimony concerning reported governmental attempts to control speech. The individuals summoned are Rob Flaherty, who served as the White House director of digital strategy; Andy Slavitt, the former COVID-19 coordinator; and Clarke Humphrey, who was the COVID-19 digital director, Newsbusters reported.
This move by Jordan's committee follows a decision by the Supreme Court to pause an injunction from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and subsequently side with the government's censorship activities, allowing the Bureau's FITF to resume communications with tech companies.
The requested records include communications involving the FBI's San Francisco Field Office, FITF, and the aforementioned tech companies, particularly those concerning issues of "alleged foreign influence or election integrity."