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Letter to Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security - Bice Sends Letter Demanding Answers on DHS 'Disinformation Governance Board'

Letter

By: Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar, Doug LaMalfa, Kevin McCarthy, Michelle Steel, Doug Lamborn, John Rutherford, Gus Bilirakis, Barry Moore, Rick Crawford, David Schweikert, Jay Obernolte, Young Kim, Lauren Boebert, Neal Dunn, Bill Posey, Vern Buchanan, Mario Diaz-Balart, Drew Ferguson, Rick Allen, Russ Fulcher, Rodney Davis, Jim Banks, Trey Hollingsworth III, Brett Guthrie, Clay Higgins, Jack Bergman, Tom Emmer, Vicky Hartzler, Steven Palazzo, Richard Hudson, Jr., Ted Budd, Mark Amodei, Elise Stefanik, Brad Wenstrup, Bob Gibbs, Mike Carey, Cliff Bentz, Fred Keller, Nancy Mace, Dusty Johnson, Scott DesJarlais, Van Taylor, Kevin Brady, Randy Weber, Sr., Tony Gonzales, Michael Cloud, Rob Wittman, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Glenn Grothman, Alex Mooney, Stephanie Bice, Robert Aderholt, Gary Palmer, Bruce Westerman, Andy Biggs, Debbie Lesko, Tom McClintock, David Valadao, Mike Garcia, Ken Calvert, Darrell Issa, Ken Buck, Matt Gaetz, Kat Cammack, Mike Waltz, Daniel Webster, Scott Franklin, Greg Steube, Byron Donalds, Carlos Giménez, Buddy Carter, Austin Scott, Barry Loudermilk, Ashley Hinson, Brian Mast, Maria Salazar, Jody Hice, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Robin Kelly, Darin LaHood, Victoria Spartz, Jacob LaTurner, Andy Barr, Julia Letlow, John Moolenaar, Peter Stauber, Jason Smith, Greg Murphy, Patrick McHenry, Jeff Van Drew, Andrew Garbarino, John Katko, Bob Latta, Troy Balderson, Markwayne Mullin, Dan Meuser, Guy Reschenthaler, Jeff Duncan, Tim Burchett, David Kustoff, Lance Gooden, August Pfluger, Jodey Arrington, Roger Williams, Blake Moore, Ben Cline, Bryan Steil, Mike Gallagher, Randy Feenstra, Mike Bost, Jackie Walorski, Greg Pence, Ron Estes, Steve Scalise, Garret Graves, Tim Walberg, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Michael Guest, Virginia Foxx, Madison Cawthorn, Yvette Herrell, Nicole Malliotakis, Chris Jacobs, Bill Johnson, Dave Joyce, Frank Lucas, Scott Perry, GT Thompson, Jr., Ralph Norman, Jr., Chuck Fleischmann, Dan Crenshaw, Jake Ellzey, Ronny Jackson, Troy Nehls, Michael Burgess, Burgess Owens, Morgan Griffith, Scott Fitzgerald, David McKinley, Mike Simpson, Mary Miller, Jim Baird, Tracey Mann, Thomas Massie, Mike Johnson, Bill Huizenga, Michelle Fischbach, Billy Long, Matt Rosendale, Dan Bishop, Adrian Smith, Lee Zeldin, Claudia Tenney, Jim Jordan, Warren Davidson, Kevin Hern, Brian Fitzpatrick, John Joyce, Joe Wilson, Sr., Diana Harshbarger, Mark Green, Pat Fallon, Michael McCaul, Pete Sessions, Beth Van Duyne, Brian Babin, Robert Good, Dan Newhouse, Tom Tiffany, Carol Miller
Date: May 5, 2022
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Operations

Dear Secretary Mayorkas,

We write to you to express concerns about the newly created "Disinformation Governance Board" within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which you announced last week.1 The creation of this Board is problematic for several reasons.

First, we have ethical concerns about an organization charged with securing the homeland engaging in anything that could have an impact on speech. We believe that the Disinformation Governance Board could be utilized as a political tool under the guise of security. This has the potential to severely undermine the American people's confidence in the Department, especially as we enter the 2022 election season.

Second, the Department's primary mission sets are countering terrorism, securing the border, securing cyberspace and infrastructure, upholding economic security, strengthening resilience, and strengthening DHS itself. 2 Traditionally, combatting misinformation has been a foreign mission relegated to the elements of the intelligence community with equities in foreign operations. As a domestically focused Department, we are concerned that DHS is overstepping its authority with the creation of this Board. DHS has developed a stalwart reputation as a defender of the homeland primarily because it has focused on these mission sets and has remained non-partisan in achieving them. Implementing something as vague as a "Disinformation Governance Board" will distract from these mission sets and potentially tarnish the non-partisan reputation the Department has developed since its founding.

Additionally, during your testimony last week, you claimed the Biden administration has "effectively managed" the border crisis.3 Meanwhile, the policies of the current administration have resulted in over 1.5 million border encounters in the last six months, which is the largest in our nation's history.4 We are concerned that the Disinformation Governance Board will distract from this crisis.

Third, we are concerned with the appointment of Nina Jankowicz as the head of this Board. Ms. Jankowicz has, on several occasions, displayed questionable judgment on matters of disinformation and freedom of speech.5 For example, she has expressed support for Christopher Steele, author of the Steele Dossier. This document has long-since been discredited as one of its main sources was charged with five counts of making false statements to the FBI. Ms. Jankowicz has also cast doubt on the Hunter Biden laptop story, which she falsely claimed was "a Trump campaign product." 6

For these reasons, we request that you respond to the following questions thirty days from the date of receipt of this letter.
1. Under what legal authority is DHS creating this Disinformation Governance Board?
2. What is the Board's specific directive and mission? What authorities will it have under the Department?
3. How does this Board help DHS protect the homeland from threats? Why is DHS putting valuable resources toward a mission that it appears to have no equity in when there is an ongoing crisis at our southern border?
4. Why was Ms. Jankowicz chosen to head this Board? Who were the other candidates considered for this position? What qualifications and vetting procedures did the Department utilize when determining who would head up the Disinformation Governance Board?


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