On Thursday, Republican Senator Josh Hawley (MO) tweeted out a note he sent to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, blasting the newly-formed “Disinformation Governance Board,” calling for the “monstrosity” to be dissolved.
In his Tweet, Hawley said, “The Administration that activated the FBI against parents at school board meetings now has created a government Disinformation Board to monitor all Americans’ speech. It’s a disgrace. Joe Biden & Secretary Mayorkas: dissolve this monstrosity immediately.”
The Administration that activated the FBI against parents at school board meetings now has created a government Disinformation Board to monitor all Americans’ speech. It’s a disgrace. Joe Biden & Secretary Mayorkas: dissolve this monstrosity immediately pic.twitter.com/hSnMpREizI
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) April 28, 2022
The letter began “I write with deep concern about the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to create a new Disinformation Governance Board. I confess, I at first thought this announcement was satire. Surely no American Administration would ever use the power of Government to sit in judgment on the First Amendment speech of its own citizens.”
Hawley went on to say, “Sadly, I was mistaken. Rather than protecting our border or the American Homeland, you have chosen to make policing Americans’ speech your priority. This new board is almost certainly unconstitutional and should be dissolved immediately.”
Hawley continued by saying, “The Supreme Court has even gone so far as to say that ‘Under the First Amendment there is no such thing as a false idea.’ The apparent broad mandate of this new government entity to ‘coordinate countering misinformation’ in America undermines the argument that it can even exist consistent with the Constitution.”
His letter concluded with, “While Democrats have for years controlled the public square through Big Tech allies, Mr. Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has shown just how tenuous that control is. It can only be assumed that the sole purpose of this new Disinformation Governance Board will be to marshal the power of the federal government to censor conservative and dissenting speech. This is dangerous and un-American. The board should be immediately dissolved.”