Judge Rejects Biden Administration Attempt to Block Deposition of FBI Official

Law enforcement officers walk past the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building on July 21, 2022. Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times

An FBI official involved in pressuring Big Tech companies to censor information must sit for a deposition, a U.S. judge ruled on Nov. 14, rejecting an attempt by the Biden administration to shield the official.

Elvis Chan, a supervisory special agent in the FBI’s San Francisco office, might not have been involved in the communication that led to Facebook suppressing the first story about Hunter Biden’s laptop computer, according to U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty.

But Chan might still have information about which FBI officials were involved, said Doughty, a Trump appointee.

“If Chan played no role in the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story, then such information will be made clear in his deposition,” he stated in a four-page ruling.

“Chan had authority over cybersecurity issues for the FBI in the San Francisco, California region, which includes the headquarters of major social-media platforms and played a critical role for the FBI in coordinating with social-media platforms related to censorship. Even if Chan played no role in the Hunter Biden laptop communication issue, he may have knowledge of who did, and his deposition is nonetheless warranted.”

Doughty, in October, ordered depositions of multiple government officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Chan. Documents produced in discovery and publicly available information show or indicate that the officials were involved in Big Tech censorship, he said.

In his order, he said plaintiffs established that Chan “has personal knowledge about the issue concerning censorship across social media as it related to COVID-19 and ancillary issues of COVID-19” and that he was “identified as the FBI Agent who communicated with Facebook to suppress a story about the Hunter Biden laptop.”

Government lawyers have tried to block several depositions, including that of Chan, an assistant special agent in charge (ASAC). In a motion to block Chan’s deposition, they pointed to a letter from Meta, Facebook’s parent company, that states that Chan didn’t advise Meta to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story.

“Based on this newly received evidence, the Court should amend the Deposition Order, and withdraw its authorization of a deposition of ASAC Chan,” the lawyers stated.

Plaintiffs, including the attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri, opposed the motion, telling the court that they never claimed that Chan advised Facebook to specifically suppress the story but that Chan was involved in the communication that led to the suppression.

“Moreover, there are additional compelling reasons to depose Chan—including that he is the principal point of contact between social-media platforms and the FBI Section that combats so-called ‘disinformation’ on social media; that he routinely organizes and participates in oral meetings with social-media platforms about election-related disinformation; and that he has openly boasted about coordinating with social-media platforms to combat misinformation and disinformation,” they stated.

The first deposition took place on Nov. 10, according to court filings. They’re all due to take place by the end of the year.