Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, May 11, 2025

Fauci Could Not Recall Key Details During Deposition: Louisiana Attorney General

Fauci Could Not Recall Key Details During Deposition: Louisiana Attorney General

Dr. Anthony Fauci said he could not recall key details about his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to one of the officials who questioned him on Nov. 23.
Fauci, the director National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984 and President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, was deposed by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, both Republicans.

“It was amazing, literally, that we spent seven hours with Dr. Fauci—this is a man who single-handedly wrecked the U.S. economy based upon ‘the science, follow the science.’—and over the course of seven hours, we discovered that he can’t recall practically anything dealing with his COVID response,” Landry told The Epoch Times after leaving the deposition. 

“He just said, ‘I can’t recall, I haven’t seen that. And I think we need to put these documents into context,'” Landry added.

“It was extremely troubling to realize that this is a man who advises presidents of the United States and yet couldn’t recall information he put out, information he discussed, press conferences he held dealing with the COVID-19 response,” Landry added later.

Fauci and NIAID did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Landry declined to provide specific details about the deposition until it is made public, which will happen at a future date. But he said officials would be able to take some of what they learned to advance their case.

Landry and Schmitt sued the U.S. government in May, alleging it violated people’s First Amendment rights by pressuring big tech companies to censor speech. Documents produced by the government in response bolstered the claims. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, the Trump appointee overseeing the case, recently ordered Fauci and seven other officials to testify under oath about their knowledge of the censorship.

Doughty concluded that plaintiffs showed Fauci “has personal knowledge about the issue concerning censorship across social media as it related to COVID-19 and ancillary issues of COVID-19.”

While Fauci qualified as a high-ranking official, the burden of him being deposed was outweighed by the court’s need for information before ruling on a motion for a preliminary injunction, Doughty said.

Wednesday was the first time Fauci testified under oath about his interactions with big tech firms, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Before the deposition, Landry said in a statement, “We all deserve to know how involved Dr. Fauci was in the censorship of the American people during the COVID pandemic; tomorrow, I hope to find out.”

“We’re going to follow the evidence everywhere it goes to get down to exactly what has happened, to get down to the fact that our government used private entities to suppress the speech of Americans,” Landry told The Epoch Times.

Other Depositions
The government moved to block some of the depositions, but not Fauci’s. It just won an order blocking the depositions of Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly, and Rob Flaherty, a deputy assistant to Biden.

Similar efforts to block the depositions of former White House press secretary Jen Psaki and FBI official Elvis Chan have been unsuccessful.

Chan is scheduled to answer questions next week. Psaki is scheduled to be deposed on Dec. 8.

Chan was involved in communicating with Facebook, LinkedIn, and other big tech firms about content moderation, according to evidence developed in the case and public statements he’s made. Psaki publicly said while still in the White House that platforms should step up against alleged mis- and disinformation.

Plaintiffs have already deposed several officials including Daniel Kimmage, an official at the State Department’s Global Engagement Center.

That center worked with Easterly’s agency to create a coalition of nonprofits called the Election Integrity Partnership, which pushed social media companies to censor speech.

Kimmage was also responsible for meetings during which censorship was discussed, with State Department official Samaruddin Stewart acting on his orders, according to documents produced by LinkedIn.

Motion to Dismiss
Earlier Wednesday, the government asked Doughty to throw out the case, asserting that plaintiffs have not shown the government engaged in coercion against the companies.

Even if government officials “urged social media companies do more to contain misinformation, any content moderation decisions made by social media companies ultimately ‘rested with’ those companies,” U.S. lawyers said.

“Even emphatic requests or strongly worded urging, see … (President Biden saying failing to take action against misinformation results in ‘killing people’), do not plausibly amount to coercion,” the lawyers added.

Plaintiffs are crafting a response to the motion.

Both sides are also preparing briefs regarding the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision that blocked the Murthy, Easterly, and Flaherty depositions.

The appeals court said Doughty had not adequately considered whether alternative means of obtaining the information sought exist, such as deposing lower-level officials or seeking written answers from the higher-level officials.

Doughty ordered plaintiffs to file a brief by Nov. 29. The government has until Dec. 2 to respond. Plaintiffs may reply to that response by Dec. 5.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Marking a Historic Papacy
India-Pakistan conflict may be first test for Chinese military tech
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Warren Buffett to Step Down as Berkshire CEO After Nearly 60 Years
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Pope Francis Laid to Rest in Rome as World Leaders Attend Funeral
Not Child’s Play: How Competitive Gaming Became a Global Economic Empire
California Surpasses Japan to Become the World’s Fourth-Largest Economy
Former U.S. Congressman George Santos sentenced to eighty-seven months for wide-ranging fraud
Israel Considers Limited Strikes on Iran's Nuclear Facilities Amid Diplomatic Efforts
Saudi Arabia Offers Max Verstappen Unprecedented Deal to Join Aston Martin
Global Pistachio Shortage Amid Rising Demand for 'Dubai Chocolate'
IMF Predicts No Global Recession Amid Trade Tensions
Removing the Political Rival Means Diminishing What's Remaining of Turkey's Economy
White House Investigates Security Breach After Journalist Accidentally Added to Secret Yemen Strike Chat
UAE Pledges $1.4 Trillion Investment Strategy in the United States
Revealing the Electromagnetic Characteristics of the Great Pyramid of Giza
Netanyahu Dismisses Shin Bet Chief Amid 'Loss of Trust' and 'Qatargate' Corruption Investigations Involving Netanyahu's Advisors
U.S. Approves $100 Million Precision Rocket Sale to Saudi Arabia Amid Ongoing Yemen Conflict
High-ranking ISIS Official Neutralized in Collaborative Operation in Iraq
Netanyahu Rejects UN Reports on Gaza as 'Untrue'
Six Americans Freed from Detention in Kuwait
Syria Wraps Up Military Campaign Amid Extensive Violence and Large-Scale Killings.
Trump Speaks Out on the Arrest of Pro-Palestinian Student at Columbia University
Demonstrations Break Out as Individual Ascends Big Ben with Palestinian Flag
Over 300,000 Refugees Expected to Return to Syria Amid Ongoing Crisis
Trump Urges Nuclear Talks with Iran as Tensions Escalate
US Launches AI Initiative to Track Foreign Nationals' Social Media for Terrorist Support.
US Initiates Direct Discussions with Hamas During Hostage Situation
US Government Dismisses Arab Leaders' Plan for Gaza Reconstruction
US Engages in Unprecedented Covert Talks with Hamas Regarding Hostages
Arab Leaders Approve $53 Billion Initiative for Gaza Reconstruction
Iran's Enriched Uranium Stockpile Reaches Levels for Six Nuclear Devices
Israel Indicates Willingness to Resume Military Operations in Gaza
Hamas Lets Go of Last Israeli Hostage as Part of Ceasefire Deal
Trump Adjusts Gaza Resettlement Plan Following Rejections from Regional Leaders
The negotiation teams of Trump and Putin meet directly, establishing the groundwork for a significant advance.
Israeli Minister Urges Hamas to Surrender and Depart from Gaza.
Iran Considers Moving Its Capital Due to Urban Difficulties
Israel and Hamas Finalize Sixth Exchange of Hostages and Prisoners During Continuing Gaza Ceasefire
Leaders of BRICS to Gather in Rio de Janeiro for July Summit
Muhsin Hendricks, a trailblazing openly gay imam, was killed in South Africa.
Trump's special envoy for hostage affairs cautions Hamas against challenging Trump before Saturday's deadline.
Two British citizens apprehended in Iran amid escalating tensions.
Israel Issues Threat of Military Action as Hostage Negotiations with Hamas Continue
Hamas Coordinates Worldwide Solidarity Marches in Reaction to U.S. and Israeli Initiative
Israel Warns of Ending Gaza Ceasefire Due to Hostage Situation
×