DHS Heavily Redacts Emails on “Disinformation Board” After Saying They Have Nothing to Hide

The Information in Our Reporter’s Notebook

Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, asserted that the Disinformation Governance Board was founded on “best practices” and that there was nothing sinister to conceal when its existence became widely known.

The majority of the legal defenses and talking points Mayorkas’ department developed to protect the now-disbanded board from “blowback” are being withheld from Americans a year later, according to FOIA documents.

Nina Jankowicz, the former executive director of the board, and her staff released more than 100 pages of internal correspondence to the conservative nonprofit Citizens United with harsh redactions.

What little is visible demonstrates that DHS was frantically trying to prevent “hostile” news outlets from spreading the story because it underestimated the negative response the board would elicit.

After some media outlets started referring to the board as the “Ministry of Truth” as word of its formation spread, Jankowicz cited “blowback and abuse” in the FOIA emails.

She wrote, “There’s a good chance that this will end up on an adversarial TV network in the near future.”

The board’s responses to Sens’ direct questions can be seen in some of the communications. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) Ron Johnson (R-Wisc) as well. ), for example, the Constitution’s language enabling DHS to establish such a board and staff members.

Which DHS components would be “responsible for monitoring and collecting data” on misinformation, as well as what “specific actions” the agency intended to take to “conquer disinformation,” were additional questions. The department redrew each response.

DHS emails regarding the Disinformation Board have been redacted.

Screenshot of DHS/FOIA

View all PDF documents here:

The board was disbanded about four months after it was established in response to criticism of Jankowicz’s leadership and a lack of clarity regarding its true mission.

David Bossie, president of Citizens United, accused the Biden administration of politicizing the executive branch to target political opponents in a statement to Just The News.

The Orwellian Disinformation Governance Board (“DGB”) established by Joe Biden is merely the most recent instance of the left’s push to use the federal government and its vast power for political ends, he wrote. The Biden Administration is adamant about targeting, stifling, and censoring Americans who disagree with their radical agenda, whether it be the Justice Department, the IRS, or the Department of Homeland Security.

Bossie noted that Jankowicz was a disinformation propagandist who openly denied the existence of the Hunter Biden “laptop from hell” in an interview on “Just The News No Noise” on Tuesday.

He claimed that “the American people are aware of what is happening.” “Because Americans don’t support government censorship.”

Bossie responded to Jankowicz’s “blowback” quote by claiming that it revealed some staff anxiety and revealed how the board truly felt about the project.

Bossie contended that the administration’s public actions and internal communications both reveal worry about how the public will respond to their efforts to control information. As an illustration, he used Matt Taibbi’s IRS visit to his Twitter Files home during his testimony before Congress regarding government censorship through outside surrogates.

Bossie remarked, “You see these people in these internal memos and emails, talking about how anxious they are, saying,’Oh, my goodness, you know, I expected some blowback, but I didn’t expect this kind or this level. As Matt Taibbi is testifying about government power and what the government is doing by stifling speech on Facebook and Twitter, the IRS is currently sending jackbooted thugs to his home, according to a story that broke this week.

As part of the GOP’s ongoing investigation into the alleged political “weaponization” of federal agencies, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan announced earlier this month that subpoenas had been issued to Jankowicz and other Biden administration officials.

Jordan wrote to Jankowicz in March, “We have repeatedly asked you for information regarding your official actions and responsibilities as a DHS employee and former Executive Director of the Board,” including “the Board’s definition of disinformation, its plans for gathering information and from what sources,” its expectations for countering it, and its proposals for defending First Amendment rights.”

You are in a unique position to offer information that is pertinent and necessary to inform the Committee’s oversight and potential legislative reforms as the former Executive Director of the Board. In light of your disregard for our earlier voluntary requests, a subpoena requiring you to appear in court is attached.

Jankowicz retorted that she’d be delighted to address the group.

She tweeted earlier this month, “I will happily testify to the truth of the Board under oath: That it was a working group intended to address disinformation that endangered Americans’ safety and that our democracy is less secure due to Republican Party irresponsible lies about it.”

DHS and the White House were contacted by Just The News for comment, but neither group responded.

Nick and John are Twitter users @NGivasDC and @JohnsolomonReports.