Because of their new “Disinformation Governance Board,” Joe Biden and the Department of Homeland Security have been getting a lot of flak, and for good reason.
The panel, a genuinely illiberal concept, was announced as a way to stop the spread of “disinformation,” particularly in minority communities, “ahead of the midterm elections.”
An Expert on Disinformation
On multiple levels, this is astounding — both for treating minority groups as if they are kids who need to be warned about what to believe, and for the government deciding what constitutes “disinformation.”
This is especially true, given that the government is a major purveyor of disinformation itself.
Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the DHS, has appeared on Sunday talk shows, attempting to defend the decision.
It didn’t go well because he tried to minimize what the board would do and, incredulously, claimed it would be “protecting” speech.
That didn’t go over nicely with many people, especially when he added the person picked to lead the Board of Directors—Nina Jankowicz—was “eminently competent” and “totally” impartial on political issues.
The central problem with Nina Jankowicz’s argument, aside from her cringe persona, is that she believes “freedom of speech” means “the freedom to say whatever I want, but nobody is allowed to disagree or say anything rude or negative to me in response to my free speech” 🫠
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) May 1, 2022
On Wednesday, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) got the opportunity to ask Mayorkas about the board. He didn’t hold back when it came to grilling him.
Kennedy’s interrogation of Jankowicz proved how much the DHS’ vetting of the former FBI agent was worth.
Kennedy is always entertaining to watch because he accepts the role of the people, with a splash of folksy charm thrown in for good measure.
Among the things he asked about Jankowicz’s job was whether or not the woman called Hunter Biden’s computer “Russian disinformation.”
The Screening Procedure?
Mayorkas said he was completely uninformed of the situation. Kennedy inquired whether he was aware of her having “vouched for the authenticity of the Steele dossier.”
He stated once more he was not aware of this truth. Kennedy said cynically, “I can tell,” after he said she was an expert on the subject of “disinformation.”
KENNEDY: "When the department picked [Nina Jankowicz], was the department aware of her Tik Tok videos? They're really quite precocious."
MAYORKAS: "I was not aware of those videos." pic.twitter.com/eBgbwDMpok
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 4, 2022
Indeed, this “totally impartial” person even helped disseminate the false story about Carter Page that Clinton strategists were trying to spread.
Kennedy inquired whether or not the department was aware of her zany TikTok videos. His comments on the films were “very precocious,” he said, a half-smile on his face.
Mayorkas said he was completely ignorant of this. If they didn’t know anything about the falsehoods she was spreading or the bizarre films she made, how did they screen her?
How about “leftists are us” and asking for the person who was at the top of a long list? What type of background check are they capable of conducting in this situation?
Assuming this is the kind of vetting they conducted on her, think about the other individuals they must be recruiting to safeguard our security purportedly. You’re wondering how terrorists manage to sneak through their grasp?
Not only should they not have had a board, but they also should not have hired this woman.
