Court Denies US Attempt to Block Testimony in Free-Speech Case

The need to preserve free speech “significantly outweighs” any “inconvenience” for Biden administration officials testifying in Republican states’ lawsuit claiming social media censorship collusion between government officials and platforms (see 2210240057), the U.S. District Court for Western Louisiana in Monroe said Wednesday (docket 3:22-cv-01213), denying the U.S.’ motion to block the depositions. The federal government argued against the depositions of Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly and White House Digital Strategy Director Rob Flaherty. The U.S. said there would be “irreparable harm” if they’re forced to testify because they would be diverted from their official duties. “Numerous courts have held that ordinary discovery burdens, like those associated with preparing for and participating in depositions and/or the expense of discovery, do not constitute irreparable harm,” the court said: The “public interest and the interest of the other parties in preserving free speech significantly outweighs the inconvenience the three deponents will have in preparing for and giving their depositions." The depositions of Murthy, Easterly and Flaherty are scheduled for Dec. 1, Dec. 6 and Dec. 9, respectively.