House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) subpoenaed former Disinformation Governance Board chief Nina Jankowicz on Monday to testify before Congress next month.
Jordan said in a cover letter accompanying the subpoena, obtained by Breitbart News, that his committee was investigating the now-dissolved disinformation board, which was housed under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) but terminated last August, months after its creation, amid intense Republican backlash.
“We have repeatedly sought information from you concerning your official actions and duties as a DHS employee and former Executive Director of the Board,” Jordan wrote, listing out numerous dates on which he had attempted to contact Jankowicz and ask her to meet with the committee.
Jordan wrote that his committee’s investigation includes “how the Board intended to define disinformation, how it planned to collect information and from what sources, how it anticipated countering disinformation, and how it proposed to protect First Amendment rights.”
Read the cover letter below:
Jordan cited letters he wrote on January 27, February 16, and March 1 to Jankowicz requesting that she provide certain documents and appear before the committee.
“To date, however, you have declined to comply voluntarily with our request for a transcribed interview,” he wrote.
Jordan’s request comes amid the Judiciary Committee’s newly formed Weaponization of the Federal Government Select Subcommittee conducting a wide-ranging probe into alleged civil liberties violations by executive branch agencies.
Jordan noted in the subpoena’s cover letter the subcommittee’s potential to come up with legislative reforms based on its findings over the next two years.
“These potential legislative reforms include the prohibition of such a federal ‘disinformation’ entity, restrictions on the executive branch’s authority to collect speech-related information about American citizens, or enhanced protections surrounding civil liberties,” he wrote.
During a Senate hearing in December, DHS secretary Mayorkas said when questioned by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) on the merits of the disinformation board that DHS becomes “engaged … when disinformation is a threat to the security of our homeland.”
Hawley proceeded to highlight concerns about Jankowicz, Mayorkas’s appointed disinformation leader, including noting that she one time said the idea of free speech absolutists “taking over more platforms” made her “shudder” and called for more speech-related law enforcement.
Hawley also pointed to instances of Jankowicz casting doubt on the widely verified laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, including calling it at one point a “Trump campaign product.” He also raised an example of Jankowicz falsely claiming that Republicans were the ones who funded the now-discredited Trump-Russia dossier.
Jordan’s subpoena stated that Jankowicz’s deposition will take place April 10.
Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.
