Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri is introducing legislation on Wednesday that would disintegrate President Biden’s Division of Homeland Security (DHS) disinformation board immediately, including expelling the executive director role currently held by Nina Jankowicz, the new controversial director.
The Missouri Republican’s bill would dissolve this new “Disinformation Governance Board” immediately, ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security would never be able to monitor and suppress Americans’ First Amendment rights again. It would also prevent National Security Adviser Alejandro Mayorkas from allowing similar actions in other parts of the Department of Homeland Security.
In addition to abolishing the commission, Hawley’s “Disintegrating the Disinfo Governance Board Act” will force Mayorkas to turn over all records related to the board’s establishment within 30 days of the bill’s passage, as said in a report.
“Documented or recorded communications concerning the Board’s formation; the initiative or mins from any gathering where the Board’s formation was debated; any legal review to decide whether the Board’s activities would be authorized by the United States Constitution; and communication systems or records about the individual people who would be recruited to start serving on the Board,” according to the disclosure.
In a response to Fox News Digital, Hawley said, “Biden’s so-called Disinfo Board is unlawful and must be abolished immediately.” “Under the pretense of national security, this is nothing less than a censorship committee with full federal government powers to monitor dissident speech and opposing perspectives. The American people ought to know who authorized this Board and who appointed such an extreme, anti-free speech extremist as its chairman.”
Jankowicz has made a number of comments on Twitter that have since been proven to be erroneous or deceptive, including calling the claim about the Delaware laptop fix business a “fairy tale” and doubting the validity of Hunter Biden’s laptop, calling it a “Trump campaign product.” She also promoted Christopher Steele, the discredited 2016 dossier author who claimed links between Donald Trump & Vladimir Putin.
When asked about the disinformation board over the weekend, Mayorkas said he “should have done a much better job in conveying what it does” and that the board primarily handles “disinformation that poses a security danger to the nation.” He continued to defend Jankowicz, saying he “doesn’t doubt her objectivity.”
“There are folks in the agency who have a wide range of perspectives and are tremendously committed to the goal,” Mayorkas said. “We’re not here to regulate your thoughts. She’s testified in front of Congress several times, and she’s widely regarded as a terrific expert. We’re blessed to have her.”