WASHINGTON – The new Biden administration’s misinformation management council may be illegal and subject to a vote in Congress, warns Republican Sen. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Majorcas.
In a letter to the Mayorkas on Monday, Senator Bill Hagarty (R-Tenn.) Outlined legal criticism that could lead to the destruction of the board – as the White House sought to quell public concerns about the Big Brother-like panel and its controversial a chapter that has its own past of spreading misinformation.
Hagarty wrote that the board could violate the Anti-Deficit Act, which says the executive cannot spend money unless authorized to do so by Congress, and that its creation could also be subject to the Congressional Review Act.
“Clearly, this DHS Disinformation Management Council, which imposes significant restrictions on American values and freedoms and new costs for the American people, requires a review by Congress and could be in violation of the Anti-Deficit Act,” Hagarty wrote. .
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The board – likened by Republicans as well as some left-wing and libertarian critics of Orwell’s Ministry of Truth – was announced last week shortly after billionaire Elon Musk struck a deal to buy Twitter for free speech and anti-censorship reforms.
The board will be led by Nina Jankovic, a disinformation expert who has repeatedly questioned The Post’s reports on documents from Hunter Biden’s laptop, which the Washington Post and the New York Times confirmed belatedly. She has also been criticized for her own social media posts, including TikTok, which jokes about freedom of speech and fake news in a parody of Mary Poppins’ classic “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
The DHS board will be led by disinformation expert Nina Jankovic.Twitter
“The creation of this board will significantly affect Americans’ freedom of speech rights and will affect many areas of government and society,” Hagarty wrote to Majorca. “This will change the relationship between the government and those in charge. It will also significantly increase administrative costs for the number of different federal agencies involved in this effort, which will impose increased costs on the US taxpayer.
Hagarty wrote that the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to repeal regulations by a majority in each chamber, offers a potential way to destroy the board. Democrats currently hold tight seats in the House of Representatives and Senate, and Republicans are preferred to regain control next year.
“According to the CRA, an agency action that falls within the definition of a ‘rule’ must be submitted to Congress for review before it takes effect,” he wrote. “[T]The CRA defines a rule as: “all or part of the Agency’s declaration of general or specific applicability and future action intended to implement, interpret or prescribe a law or policy or describe the requirements for the organization, procedure or practice of an agency. “”
According to the Senator’s Office, if an agency does not notify Congress of such a rule, a member of Congress may ask the Government Accountability Office to issue a decision. If the GAO says this is the rule, Congress has the right to speak under the review act.
“Furthermore, this action may also be a direct violation of the provisions of the Anti-Deficit Act,” added Hagerty, “who prohibits’ making or authorizing expenditure from, or creating or authorizing a liability for, any appropriation or fund in excess of the amount “. available on the appropriation or fund, unless permitted by law. “
“In this case, it seems that the amount available for this action is ‘none’ and that Congress has explicitly canceled it only weeks ago,” he continued.
“Section 513 of Section F of the Omnibus Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (PL 117-103) explicitly prohibits the Minister of Homeland Security from using any funds provided by Congress to implement Section 872 of the Homeland Security Act 2002, which means that it defines any action for “allocation or redistribution of functions among the employees of the Ministry of Internal Security or for the creation, consolidation or change of organizational units within the Ministry of Internal Security”.
“As you know, an employee, including you, who violates the Anti-Deficit Act” will be subject to appropriate administrative discipline “and will face a criminal fine, imprisonment, or both for intentional violations,” Hagarty continued.
The letter asks the Mayorkas to confirm that it will make the board subject to review under the Congressional Review Act and to notify the White House budget service if DHS violates the Anti-Deficit Act.
Hagerty wrote to Mallorca that the creation of the Disinformation Board could be put to a vote in Congress. Photo by NIKOLAS KAMM / AFP via Getty Images
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki insisted on Monday that the board, whose duties remain poorly defined, would simply continue to work to combat the misinformation that has been going on during the Trump administration. She highlighted the work of the Agency for Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security. Then-President Donald Trump fired CISA Director Chris Krebs in November 2020 because he contradicted his allegations of voter fraud.
“This is ongoing work by CISA until 2020,” Psaki insisted. “So what this will do is to continue this work and help coordinate the department’s internal activities related to disinformation, which is a threat to the homeland. So you gave some examples – of terrorist threats, of course, but you also know, which is different from the work of smugglers who do misinformation.
“The mandate is not to judge what is true or false online or otherwise. He will work in a non-partisan and apolitical way. This is mainly intended to coordinate much of the ongoing work that is happening, “Psaki said.
“The focus is on disinformation that threatens the homeland – as I noted, these are things like things that would incite violent extremism, you know, human traffickers and other transnational criminal organizations, any efforts to malicious foreign influence, anything that would endanger people during emergencies. So much of this work is really about work that people may not see every day, which is done by the Department of Homeland Security. “
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice did not respond immediately to The Post’s requests for comment on Hagarty’s letter.
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