Judge rejects Jenn Psaki’s request to quash subpoena

U.S. Magistrate Ivan Davis rejected a request from former White House press secretary Jen Psaki to quash a subpoena for her testimony in a case alleging the Biden administration conspired to silence conservative voices on social media.

“The suit alleges that President Biden his appointees are violating the First Amendment by urging social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and others to limit access to posts on subjects like Covid-19 vaccines and election fraud,” the Daily Mail reported.

Psaki filed the motion to escape a deposition, claiming she had no relevant information to provide, with her lawyers arguing it would be an “undue burden” on her, in part because it would take time away from her family and her new gig at MSNBC.

“How much time does it take to prepare a witness for deposition when she doesn’t really have anything to say? That’s confusing,” the judge said, according to the British newspaper.

Davis, who had already ruled that Psaki and other government officials could be deposed in the case, was clearly not impressed with Psaki’s efforts, although Politico noted that “after roundly rejecting and even ridiculing arguments Psaki’s attorneys and the Justice Department presented against forcing her to testify, [he] ruled that the issue of Psaki’s testimony be sent to Louisiana to be resolved by the federal judge overseeing the case filed in May by the states of Louisiana and Missouri.”

“During a brutal argument session that stretched to more than an hour Friday morning, Davis accused Psaki’s high-powered lawyers and the Justice Department of trying to make an ‘end-run’ around U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty, a Monroe, La.-based appointee of President Donald Trump,” Politico reported.

Missouri and Louisiana are seeking information on statements Psaki made from the podium as the president’s spokesperson on communicating with social media companies about blocking misinformation on their sites.

“We engage with (social media companies) regularly and they certainly understand what our asks are,” Psaki said on one occasion, as seen here:

Tom Tillison

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