Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas pushed back Sunday against the wave of criticism of the newly formed Disinformation Governance Board, saying the “working group” will not be monitoring American citizens, and saying the board’s job is an “extraordinarily important endeavor.”
Mr. Mayorkas faced swift backlash from Republicans and conservatives last week after he revealed the board’s existence for the first time in congressional testimony. Republicans likened it to the Ministry of Truth from Georgia Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.”
“Those criticisms are precisely the opposite of what this small working group within the Department of Homeland Security will do,” Mr. Mayorkas said on CNN “State of the Union.” “I think we probably could have done a better job of communicating what it does and does not do.”
Mr. Mayorkas’ appearances on Sunday’s talk shows came days after the top Republicans on the House Intelligence and Homeland Security committees demanded more details about the disinformation board, whose executive director, Nina Jankowicz, has backed Democrats and criticized First Amendment rights.
In a letter Friday to Mr. Mayorkas, Reps. Michael Turner of Ohio and John Katko of New York said they intend to investigate the decision to create the “ill-defined governance board” in preparation for funding decisions for the 2023 fiscal year.
“Given the complete lack of information about this new initiative and the potential serious consequences of a government entity identifying and responding to “disinformation,” we have serious concerns about the activities of this new Board, particularly under Ms. Jankowicz’s leadership,” the lawmakers wrote.
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Mr. Mayorkas revealed the formation of the panel last week during testimony before a House Appropriation subcommittee in response to a question posed by Rep. Lauren Underwood, Illinois Democrat, about what his department is doing to combat misinformation campaigns targeting minority communities.
He said the goal of the new board is to “bring the resources of [DHS] together to address” the threat of disinformation, with a focus on the spread of disinformation in minority communities.
Homeland Security has said the board is focused on the disinformation tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as what smuggling groups are telling illegal immigrants.
“What it does is it works to ensure that the way in which we address threats, the connectivity between threats and acts of violence, are addressed without infringing on free speech, protecting civil rights and civil liberties, [and] the right of privacy,” Mr. Mayorkas said Sunday.
He said the board doesn’t have “any operational authority,” and he defended Ms. Jankowicz. Mr. Mayorkas said Ms. Jankowicz is “imminently qualified” and an “expert in the field of disinformation.”
In their letter to Mr. Mayorkas, the GOP lawmakers said Ms. Jankowicz raises several concerns.
Among other things, they noted that Ms. Jankowicz stated publicly that reports about Hunter Biden’s laptop should be “view[ed] as a Trump campaign product.”
They also raised concerns with a tweet by Ms. Jankowicz after Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced a bid to buy Twitter in which she wrote: “I shudder to think about if free speech absolutists were taking over more platforms.”
The GOP lawmakers are demanding Mr. Mayorkas hand over “all documents and communications” referring to the creation of the board and Ms. Jankowicz’s appointment.
They are also demanding that Mr. Mayorkas disclose whether any Intelligence Community resources were used to create the board or related to its mission.
Ms. Jankowicz has been a fellow at the Wilson Center, working on Russian propaganda efforts. She has also been an adviser to Ukraine.
“I believe that this working group … is an extraordinarily important endeavor,” Mr. Mayorkas said.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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