The White House denied on Wednesday that it was involved in the suspension of the Department of Homeland Security’s Disinformation Governance Board, claiming that the board “never convened” due to “mischaracterizations by outside parties.”
“The board has never met,” said White House communications secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “Yes, the board is paused in the sense that it will not convene while former Secretary [Michael] Chertoff and former Deputy AG [Jamie] Gorelick conduct their assessment, but the department’s work across administrations to address misinformation that threatens our country’s security is critical and will continue.”
Jean-Pierre disputed that the White House was involved in the process’s halt and stated that “neither Nina Jankowicz nor the board has anything to do with censoring or eliminating anything from anyplace.”
Instead, Jean-Pierre stated that Jankowicz’s role on the board was to offer knowledge on how to battle disinformation and that the objective of the board was “never about censorship, police speech, or eliminating stuff from any place.”
“Its mission was to keep Homeland Security personnel informed of how negative actors, such as people traffickers, multinational crime organizations, and foreign enemies,” Jean-Pierre explained.
According to the Washington Post, DHS decided to halt the board’s work on Monday, and the following morning, the board’s leader, Jankowicz, had composed a resignation letter.
The Post said that Jankowicz’s decision to quit DHS is still up in the air, as the department has offered to let her stay despite the agency suspending any organizations concentrating on what the Biden administration refers to as “mal-information,” or “MDM.”
Meanwhile, DHS is defending Jankowicz against right-wing accusations based on her previous stances and social media posts, such as casting doubt on the validity of the New York Post’s story on Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 election.
“Nina Jankowicz has been the target of unfounded and disgusting personal comments and physical threats,” a DHS spokesman told the Post in a statement. “The Secretary has consistently defended her as extremely competent and emphasized the significance of the Department’s disinformation work in legislative hearings and media appearances, and he will continue to do so.”
Earlier this month, the attorneys general of 20 Republican-led states threatened DHS with broad legal action, arguing it is “un-American” and chills Americans’ free expression. The White House defended the DHS board earlier this month, claiming it will be “nonpartisan” and “apolitical.”
