‘Demanding Immediate Access to All Records’: Senator Hawley Demands Immediate Access from DHS Secretary Mayorkas to Disinformation Board Documents

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) demanded on Monday that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas hand over documents about the disinformation governance board. The board was just recently “paused” by the Biden Administration.

Hawley was joined on the letter by fellow GOP Senators Rick Scott (FL), Rand Paul (KY), James Lankford (OK) and Ron Johnson (WI).

The letter demanded, “immediate access to all records and communications related to the board from DHS, as the secretary had promised under oath in his May 4th hearing.”

The senators also wrote, “We were pleased to read reports that you have decided to shut down the board in response to the concerns we raised.”

“But it is important that this mistake is not repeated.”

“We are therefore demanding transparency into the Department’s decision-making process so that we can learn why the Department ever thought creating a disinformation board would be a good idea.”

Fox News reported that:

The senators called on Mayorkas to produce all “records related to the Department’s Disinformation Governance Board” including “written or recorded communications concerning the formation of the Board,” “any communications with the White House about the formation of the Board or appointment of officials to serve on the Board,” and “any legal review to determine whether the activities of the Board would be authorized by the Constitution of the United States.”

They also said for “any documents that are responsive to this request but withheld from the Committee, please identify the name of each document, the date of its creation, the custodian, summary of its contents, and the basis for withholding the record from the Committee.”

The Biden Administration announced the creation of the Disinformation Governance Board in April. They said they wanted to fight the spread of disinformation because it could “affect border security, Americans’ safety during disasters, and public trust in our democratic institutions.”

Many critics cited that the board was eerily similar to the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell’s novel “1984”. Many have claimed it is “un-American” and a threat to free speech.

The Washington Post was the first to report on Monday that DHS decided to halt the board’s work and Nina Jankowicz, the board’s director, had a resignation letter Tuesday morning.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News, “Neither Nina Jankowicz nor the board have anything to do with the censorship or with removing content from anywhere. Their role is to ensure that national security officials are updated on how misinformation is affecting the threat environment.”

The Disinformation Governance Board only lasted a total of 3 weeks.