House GOP Asks Facebook And Zuckerberg To Hand Over Dr. Fauci Communication
FREEDOM BEACON | June 20, 2021
Among the revelations from the Buzzfeed Fauci Email dump was the news that Dr. Anthony Fauci was communicating with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on how Facebook could best coordinate with the government’s approved COVID messaging.
In response to this revelation, House Republicans Jim Jordan (R-OH) and James Comer (R-KY) have sent a letter to Zuckerberg requesting that he provide them with any communications he or Facebook had with Fauci or other federal officials during the COVID pandemic.
Central to their concern is if Facebook was making censorship decisions based on input from government officials as this would be a clear violation of the First Amendment.
There is no “It’s a private company; it can do what it wants” argument if the “private company” in question is making censorship decisions at the behest of the Federal government.
“In light of Facebook’s subsequent censorship of certain COVID-19 content,” the letter reads, “these communications with Dr. Fauci raise the prospect that the federal government induced Facebook to censor certain speech in violation of the First Amendment.”
One of the primary topics censored by Facebook surrounded the question of how and where the COVID pandemic originated. The social media giant routinely blocked content regarding the so-called “lab-leak” theory.
Congressmen Jordan and Comer specifically stipulate that Facebook hand over “all documents and communications” between Facebook employees and employees within the US Government. Additionally, they are requesting that Facebook provide documents on its COVID-19 “content moderation” policies.
In their letter, they allege Zuckerberg shared “confidential trade or commercial secrets” in his communications with Fauci. These portions of the email communications were redacted in the content publicly released.
It is unclear at this time just how much traction Republican lawmakers can gain in investigating the revelations from the Fauci emails. With a slim Democrat House majority, the likelihood Speaker Pelosi or Democrat committee chairs will be willing to entertain any course of action is slim.
Fauci will no doubt remain protected, at least through the Midterms should Republicans retake the House.
In the meantime, Fauci is using the current protection offered to him by Democrat leadership to solidify the narrative that criticisms or attacks against him are “attacks on science.”
