Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., confronted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during his testimony on the DHS budget at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Tuesday, accusing the Biden administration of spreading false information about several topics regarding national security, the Daily Caller reported.
As Scott questioned Mayorkas, behind Scott was a large poster, with "Disinformation Alert" written across the top, listing several issues he alleges the Biden administration has allegedly lied about, including border security, Hunter Biden's laptop, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Chinese spy balloon that floated across the United States in February.
"There's a whole bunch of people in the Biden administration who put out false narratives," Scott said. "They've said the border's secure. They've said Hunter Biden's laptop is not real. They've said the Afghanistan withdrawal was successful. They've said the Chinese spy balloon over the United States is not a threat."
Scott continued, stating: "All that, as we all have found out, is untrue. Now we've learned from the Twitter files is that government is working with and funds NGOs [nongovernment organizationa] to censor millions of Americans via Big Tech in direct violation of our First Amendment rights."
Mayorkas rejected the assertions, insisting that the DHS does not "censor speech" and that he wanted "to nip that misimpression in the bud," the Daily Caller reported. "We don't do that and, I should say, that the personnel of the Department of Homeland Security … not only have unflinching dedication to missions, but also have unflinching dedication to the law that they enforce."
Scott countered: "Let's just go to the facts. The Biden administration has said all those things, and now Elon Musk has been clear that the Biden administration has had access to private messages … Twitter messages."
Mayorkas denied that DHS has access to monitor private Twitter messages unless it is crucial to a criminal investigation.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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