Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr had plenty to say about the “Disinformation Governance Board,” the Department of Homeland Security’s newest entity to combat what it deems “misinformation” or “disinformation.”
On Monday, during an appearance on the Fox News Channel’s “Mornings With Maria,” the Trump-appointed Carr blasted the Biden administration’s newly formed Board as “Orwellian” and “unconstitutional.”
Is there anything more dystopian than a Disinformation Governance Board run by the federal government?
— Dr. Willie J. Montague (@RepMontague) April 27, 2022
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Carr Slams Biden Board
Speaking to Maria Bartiromo about the ‘Disinformation’ board, Carr said, “To paraphrase Justice Scalia, ‘sometimes the threats to our liberty come dressed up in sheep’s clothing, but this wolf comes as a wolf.’”
“This is Orwellian, it’s un-American, it’s unconstitutional – the very best time to shut this down was before the DHS ever announced it, the second best time is right now.”
Commissioner Carr offered up an explanation as to why the Disinformation Governance Board appears to be part of a wider agenda: “If you look back just in February, DHS put out a terrorism bulletin that swept in ‘free speech’ as among the things that they considered a threat to the domestic homeland.”
And as for collusion with the government, Carr noted: “You have [White House press secretary] Jen Psaki from the White House podium saying they are coordinating with Big Tech to take down posts, flagging posts for them.”
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He added, “I think it’s pretty clear that there is coordination happening and if there is, then that does potentially make these entities state actors, which means they’re limited by the First Amendment.”
Carr’s statement was in reference to a statement that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki made last July, where she admitted that the government was telling social media companies what to censor:
“We’re flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation. We’re working with doctors and medical experts…who are popular with their audience with accurate information. So, we’re helping get trusted content out there.”
Biden is just a front man. Obama, April 21: social media censors “don’t go far enough,” so the government needs to step in to do the job. Six days later, Homeland Security rolls out the ‘Ministry of Truth’ (aka Disinformation Governance Board). pic.twitter.com/CHOD4mbE0B
— Tulsi Gabbard ???? (@TulsiGabbard) May 1, 2022
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GOP Pushing Back
On Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) challenged Mayorkas as to just exactly what kind of information the Board would be scrutinizing.
Paul, who is a medical doctor, gave examples of statements he had made regarding COVID, asking,
“I’ve said a million times that cloth masks don’t work. YouTube takes me down. They’re a private company I can have that beef with him. What about you? You’re going to look at that? I often say that natural immunity from having had the infection is equal to the vaccine or better. You’re going to take that down?”
Paul also asked if the Board would be censoring content such as the Steele Dossier. Mayorkas stated that, “That’s not a question that I’m equipped to answer.” It was here that Paul finished off Mayorkas:
“Do you think the American people are so stupid they need you to tell them what the truth is? You can’t even admit what the truth is with the Steele dossier. I don’t trust the government to figure out what the truth is. Nor should anybody else.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also vowed that a “Disinformation Governance Board” was unacceptable in the United States. He stated:
“You cannot have a Ministry of Truth in this country. We’re not going to let Biden get away with this one. So we will be fighting back. When you’re not doing well, you have two options: You can try to do better. Or you can try to silence your critics. [Biden] is doing the latter.”
BREAKING: 20 Attorneys General sign letter demanding the disbanding of the Biden Administration’s “Disinformation Governance Board”. Threatening legal challenges. pic.twitter.com/RNBKJCU9oi
— Nick Moseder #2000 MULES (@nick_moseder) May 5, 2022
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Pushback
The attorneys general of 20 GOP-led states have signed on to a letter drawn up by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares asking the Biden administration to stop its attack on free speech and disband the Board.
Carr praised the effort by the attorneys general arguing for the disbanding of the Disinformation Board, “This is a broader effort by this administration to drive dissent from the public square. That’s why I’m glad that the Attorney Generals that you mentioned, last week have filed lawsuits to get to the bottom of this.”
Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) has gone one step further and said that the creation of the Board itself is “likely illegal.” The pick to head up the Disinformation Board, Nina Jankowicz, is also being highly scrutinized by critics of the Board.
Jankowicz has a hyper-partisan history, including being a supporter of Hillary Clinton, applauding Christopher Steele for his expertise on disinformation, and claiming the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation.
Of the appointment of Jankowicz to head up the Board, Carr added, “This type of board was always going to be a dumpster fire, but the particular director they chose to run it is just throwing more gas on it.”
Biden’s new Disinformation Governance Board chief fell for every false Russia tale about Trump in 2016 campaign: Alfa Bank, Carter Page, dossier. Then in 2020, when accurate report appeared — Hunter Biden laptop — she rejected it. From @JerryDunleavy: https://t.co/p3TCzz9FMw
— Byron York (@ByronYork) May 10, 2022
