Republicans are suing a Justice Department official allegedly involved in Big Tech’s suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story for actively avoiding their investigation.
The House Judiciary Committee is investigating whether Hunter Biden’s laptop was downplayed by social media companies. As part of the investigation, Chairman Jim Jordan discovered that an FBI agent involved in the saga – Elvis Chan – lied about the computer.
Jordan led a lawsuit against Chan on Tuesday, accusing him of “barring” his committee’s subpoena for testimony and obstructing their investigation into the censorship.
Chan’s “failure to comply” with the subpoena “impedes” the Republican-led investigation into a “matter of grave public importance,” Jordan wrote, demanding the DC District Court compel him to appear on Capitol Hill.
Last September, Chan had agreed to voluntarily appear to testify before the committee and be represented by his personal counsel. But the Justice Department made a last-minute maneuver to prevent Chan from testifying.
The FBI knew the laptop obtained by The New York Post belonged to Hunter Biden and that the photos (above) of him in a drug-addicted state were real, but refused to confirm their authenticity to Facebook and Twitter, Jim Jordan claims.
Elvis Chan served as a liaison between the FBI and major technology companies
Agency witnesses may bring counsel or personal counsel to committee hearings, but not both. The rule is designed to allow agency witnesses to testify more candidly without fear of professional retaliation, the committee said.
But two sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell DailyMail.com that DOJ derailed the testimony because the agency’s counsel also showed up Friday morning. As a result, Chan’s interview did not take place as planned.
It is now expected that an official subpoena will be issued later Friday for Chan to appear for a transcribed interview next Thursday, September 21.
The FBI disputed the claim that DOJ prevented Chan from testifying, calling it a “significant departure” from normal procedures. And the DOJ said the committee blocked the interview, not them.
“Today, after an FBI employee traveled across the country to voluntarily participate in a scheduled interview, he was denied the right to be accompanied by his chosen legal advisor,” an FBI spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
“Upon arrival at the Capitol, committee staff instructed counsel to vacate the premises, and the interview could not proceed. This is a significant departure from normal procedures and an unnecessary escalation of this committee’s treatment of FBI officials. The FBI employee remains willing to participate in a voluntary interview with appropriate legal representation.”
“The FBI recognizes the importance of Congressional oversight and will continue in accordance with the long-standing adjustment process,” the spokesperson continued.
The spokesperson also noted that more than a dozen other FBI employees participated in interviews with the committee without incident.
A Justice Department official told DailyMail.com that “DOJ did not block the interview, the commission did.”
“Agent Chan has chosen to be represented by both an agency and personal counsel. “He went to the Capitol this morning to testify, and instead of asking him questions, the committee staff turned him away and threatened to throw the counsel out of the room.”
Last year, Jordan published excerpts from the testimony of Chan, who served as one of the FBI’s liaisons with tech companies, and Laura Dehmlow, the current FBI section chief of the Foreign Influence Task Force.
Chan testified in November 2022 as part of Missouri and Louisiana’s lawsuit against the federal government and the Biden administration for conspiring with social media companies to censor speeches.
Jordan said Chan had a repeat meeting with Facebook about the laptop, but testified he only had one session. He also testified that he was not aware of the internal discussion about the laptop, but told a colleague that he was ‘aware’.
Dehmlow spoke to the Jordanian commission earlier this summer without incident.
Jordan said Dehmlow revealed how the FBI knew the laptop was not a counterfeit or factory, but declined to confirm its authenticity to social media companies.
Jordan recently published internal Facebook documents that resulted in revelations about Hunter Biden’s laptop, arguing that it illustrated that the FBI knew the laptop was authentic and belonged to him – but refused to confirm this fact to Facebook and Twitter .
That decision led to the New York Post’s report on the laptop blocking by social media companies, which labeled it as disinformation.
“Internal FB documents reveal that an FBI Special Agent made false statements in testimony about the FBI’s role in the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story,” Jordan tweeted last month.
Jordan explained in a Twitter thread how The New York Post published its first story on October 14, 2020 about the laptop, which Biden left behind in a repair shop in Delaware.
The laptop contained damning photos of Hunter taking drugs and enjoying the company of prostitutes.
It also contained emails and vast amounts of information about his business dealings.
On the day the Post published its story, Chan and Dehmlow met with representatives from Twitter and then Facebook.
The Twitter team asked if the FBI thought Hunter Biden’s laptop was real: one FBI representative said yes, and another quickly said, “No comment.”
Dehmlow told the Jordanian committee that internal consultations then took place, and it was decided that the response from then on would be ‘no comment’.
At the next meeting with Facebook, Dehmlow himself told Facebook “no comment” when asked if the laptop was real.
“It was an ongoing investigation and we generally do not comment on ongoing investigative matters when requested,” she told the Jordan Commission.
Jordan stated Monday, “Did Dehmlow know the FBI had the laptop and that it was real? Yes.
“Did other key members of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force know this? Yes.
‘The FBI knew the laptop was real, but still decided it would be ‘no comment’ on it.
‘We know what happened next.
“Twitter and Facebook censored the @nypost story.
“The Biden campaign secretly set in motion the events that led the 51 former intelligence officials to discredit the story as Russian disinformation.”
Jordan and his allies believe the FBI was working to discredit the story in an effort to downplay it and boost Joe Biden’s election chances.
Jordan then selected excerpts from Chan’s testimony late last year.
Chan was asked by Missouri and Louisiana officials if he was involved in meetings with Facebook after Oct. 14 where the Hunter Biden laptop was discussed.
Chan replied that he didn’t believe that.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan investigates Big Tech’s alleged suppression of the Hunter laptop story
Chan was asked by Missouri and Louisiana officials if he had been involved in meetings with Facebook after October 14 where the Hunter Biden laptop was discussed
“I was convinced that I was not a party to a meeting with social media companies where Hunter Biden was discussed beyond the one incident I told you about,” Chan said.
However, Jordan said his committee “recently obtained an internal Facebook document showing that Agent Chan had a secret ‘follow-up conversation’ with Facebook about the Hunter Biden laptop story on October 15, just one day after the @nypost story and the first Facebook story. meeting!’
Jordan noted that Chan also claimed he had “no inside knowledge of (the FBI) investigation” involving Hunter Biden’s laptop, but according to internal Facebook documents, he told a colleague that he was “aware of the current state of affairs within the FBI’. .’
Jordan added, “Is it any wonder why the Biden DOJ has so far blocked the committee’s efforts to interview Agent Chan?”
The committee still plans to get to the bottom of the “lie” when Chan sits down with them next week.