White House defends Disinformation Governance Board amid backlash
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy discusses Biden’s abysmal midterm poll numbers amid backlash against his disinformation board on ‘Special Report.’
FIRST ON FOX: Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley is introducing a bill Wednesday that would immediately dissolve President Biden's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disinformation board, which includes removing the executive director position currently held by the new controversial director, Nina Jankowicz.
The Missouri Republican's legislation is aimed at immediately dissolving the new "Disinformation Governance Board" and would ensure that DHS could never re-establish its attempt to monitor and censor the First Amendment rights of Americans. It would also prohibit Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas from authorizing similar activities elsewhere in DHS.
In addition to dissolving the board, Hawley's "Dissolving the Disinformation Governance Board Act" would require Mayorkas to disclose all records pertaining to the formation of the board within 30 days of the legislation being enacted.
MAYORKAS ADMITS HE ‘COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB’ EXPLAINING MISSION OF ‘DISINFORMATION’ BOARD
Sen. Josh Hawley, (R-MO), speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing "to examine COVID-19 fraud, focusing on law enforcement's response to those exploiting the pandemic", as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. June 9, 2020. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS (Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS)
The records required in the disclosure include: "Written or recorded communications concerning the formation of the Board; the agenda or minutes from any meeting at which the Board's formation was discussed; any legal review to determine whether the activities of the Board would be authorized by the Constitution of the United States; any communications or records about the individuals who would be recruited to serve on the Board."
"Biden’s so-called Disinformation Board is unconstitutional and must be dissolved immediately," Hawley said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "This is nothing short of a censorship committee vested with the full powers of the federal government to monitor dissenting speech and opposing viewpoints under the guise of national security. The American people need a full accounting of who signed off on this Board and who approved such a radical, anti-free speech activist to lead it."
Mayorkas revealed the creation of the disinformation board last Wednesday while testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee about the fiscal 2023 budget for DHS. The concept of the board was immediately mocked on social media. However, the real backlash occurred hours later after it was reported that Nina Jankowicz, a former "disinformation fellow" at the Woodrow Wilson Center, was selected to be the executive director of the disinformation board.
TWEETS FROM 'DISINFORMATION CZAR' REVEAL HISTORY OF DUBIOUS CLAIMS ON COVID, HUNTER BIDEN AND RUSSIA
Nina Jankowicz will be the executive director of the Department of Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board. (@wiczipedia Twitter account)
Jankowicz has repeatedly pushed claims on Twitter that have later been found to be completely false or misleading, including questioning the legitimacy of Hunter Biden's laptop and saying it should be viewed as a "Trump campaign product" and called the story about the Delaware laptop repair shop a "fairy tale." She also hyped up Christopher Steele, the former British spy who wrote the discredited 2016 dossier alleging ties between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
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Over the weekend, Mayorkas was pressed on the disinformation board and told "Fox News Sunday" that he "could have done a better job in communicating what it does" and said the board specifically addresses "disinformation that presents a security threat to the homeland." He went on to defend Jankowicz and said that he doesn't "question her objectivity."
"There are people in the department who have a diverse range of views, and they're incredibly dedicated to the mission," Mayorkas said. "We're not the opinion police. She has testified before Congress a number of times, she's recognized as a tremendous authority, and we're very fortunate to have her."
Fox News' Nikolas Lanum and Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
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