{"id":2085602,"date":"2023-10-31T16:38:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T20:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wray-mayorkas-squirm-over-censorship-allegations\/"},"modified":"2023-10-31T16:40:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T20:40:59","slug":"wray-mayorkas-squirm-over-censorship-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wray-mayorkas-squirm-over-censorship-allegations\/","title":{"rendered":"Wray and Mayorkas dodge censorship claims."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwray-mayorkas-squirm-over-censorship-allegations%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2085602&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Department \u200dof Homeland\u2062 Security and \u200dFBI Directors Grilled Over Assault on\u2062 First\u2064 Amendment<\/h2>\n<p>During a Tuesday Homeland \u200bSecurity Committee hearing, DHS Secretary Alejandro \u2064Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray faced intense questioning \u2064from Sen. \u200dRand Paul regarding their agencies&#8217; attack on the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>The DHS\u200d and \u200dFBI were exposed in the high-profile <em>Missouri v. Biden<\/em> \u200dcase for\u2064 their suppression of free speech in\u2062 America. However, instead \u200cof showing remorse or promising reform, Mayorkas and\u200b Wray were defensive \u200dand dishonest during\u200d the\u200c hearing.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just Now: Senator Rand Paul grills DHS Secretary Mayorkas &#038;\u2064 FBI Director Wray about whether or not they\u2019re still colluding with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ga-poll-watcher-it-expert-non-trump-supporter-affidavit-sudden-surge-of-20000-mail-in-votes-for-biden-in-early-hours-on-nov\/\" title=\"GA Poll Watcher, IT Expert, Non-Trump Supporter Affidavit: Sudden Surge of 20,000 Mail-In-Votes For Biden In Early Hours On Nov\">social media companies<\/a> to censor Americans <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GvvRXnLwcX\">pic.twitter.com\/GvvRXnLwcX<\/a><\/p>\n<footer><cite><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TexasLindsay_\/status\/1719371594789695520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 31, 2023<\/a><\/cite><\/footer>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Mayorkas claimed\u200d that DHS \u2063employees only met \u2064with Big\u200c Tech companies to discuss threats to national\u2062 security. However, when asked if this included criticism\u200d of vaccine efficacy, Mayorkas denied it, suggesting \u2062that\u2062 DHS never instructed social media\u2062 companies to censor vaccine-related \u200bcontent.<\/p>\n<p>Contrary to Mayorkas&#8217; statement,\u2063 <em>Missouri v. \u200bBiden<\/em> revealed that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure\u2064 Security Agency (CISA), a subsidiary of DHS, did\u200c indeed\u200b direct the censorship of speech critical of\u2062 Covid\u200d vaccines and\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wray-mayorkas-squirm-over-censorship-allegations\/\" title=\"Wray and Mayorkas dodge censorship claims.\">government-imposed lockdown \u200dmeasures<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Senator Paul \u200dconfronted Mayorkas, stating that <em>Missouri v. Biden<\/em> listed numerous instances \u200cof constitutionally \u2064protected speech being targeted,\u2063 unrelated to national security. He\u2063 refused to let the secretary lie.<\/p>\n<p>Turning to Wray, Paul\u200d inquired\u2064 about the FBI&#8217;s ongoing interactions with social media companies.<\/p>\n<p>Wray responded, &#8220;We&#8217;re\u200d having some interaction with social media companies. But, all of those interactions\u2064 have changed fundamentally in the wake of \u2064the court&#8217;s ruling.&#8221; \u2064He referred to the two court\u2064 rulings in <em>Missouri \u200bv. Biden<\/em> that placed\u200c an injunction\u2063 on \u200cthe \u2063FBI and other agencies, preventing them\u2063 from infringing on the \u200cFirst Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>Paul pressed\u2063 further, suggesting that the FBI&#8217;s discussions went beyond <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blackburn-introduces-amendments-to-counter-china-and-iran\/\" title=\"Blackburn Introduces Amendments to Counter China and Iran\">national security concerns<\/a>, including constitutionally protected speech. \u200cWray defensively denied\u2062 this, claiming it was not an \u2063acknowledgment of such \u2063discussions.<\/p>\n<p>However, this contradicts \u2064the findings\u200b of <em>Missouri v. Biden<\/em>, where the\u200b FBI played a significant role in suppressing the Hunter \u200bBiden laptop story and \u2062engaging in illegal\u2064 censorship. The suppression of this story potentially influenced the outcome of the\u200c 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>Mayorkas \u200band Wray lead agencies that were described\u2062 by\u2064 U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty,\u200d the initial judge in <em>Missouri v. Biden<\/em>, as being \u200binvolved in arguably &#8220;the \u2062most \u200bmassive attack against free speech in United States&#8217; history.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court \u200chas \u2063agreed to \u200bhear <em>Missouri v. \u200cBiden<\/em>, but \u200chas \u200btemporarily blocked the lower court&#8217;s injunction, \u200ballowing further speech policing. Wray and Mayorkas are likely to \u200dcontinue violating Americans&#8217; fundamental\u2062 rights until the case is addressed by the Supreme Court, expected before the end of June.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Evita Duffy-Alfonso is a staff writer for The\u2064 Federalist and co-founder of the Chicago\u200c Thinker.\u200c She is passionate about the\u2062 Midwest, \u2062lumberjack sports, writing, and her family. Follow her on \u2063Twitter at @evitaduffy_1\u200d or contact her at evita@thefederalist.com.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How\u200c did Mayorkas respond when\u200c questioned \u2062about\u200d the instances of \u200dcensorship by the DHS, and why is his\u200c response concerning?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Eech being censored \u2062by CISA. He questioned Mayorkas on \u2064whether he was aware of these instances and why his agency \u200bwould engage in such behavior. Mayorkas dodged the question, claiming \u200bthat he hadn&#8217;t\u200b read the case. This \u200bresponse only further highlighted the avoidance and lack of transparency exhibited by the DHS secretary.<\/p>\n<p>Wray&#8217;s responses were no better. When asked about the FBI&#8217;s involvement in censoring speech, Wray tried to dismiss \u200bthe issue by\u2064 stating that\u2064 the FBI\u2063 is focused \u2064on investigating \u2063crimes, not suppressing speech. However, as Senator Paul pointed out, censoring\u200c speech is\u200c itself a violation \u2062of the \u200dlaw \u200dand a suppression of\u200d Americans&#8217; First Amendment rights. Wray&#8217;s attempt to brush off the issue only demonstrated a \u200clack of accountability and an unwillingness\u2062 to address \u200dthe concerns raised.<\/p>\n<p>The assault on the First Amendment by the DHS and FBI is a concerning\u2063 development that threatens the foundations of democracy. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right that allows for \u200dthe expression of diverse opinions and the exchange of ideas. When government agencies engage\u200b in censorship, it creates \u2063a chilling effect on speech and undermines the principles upon which the country was built.<\/p>\n<p>The fact that Mayorkas\u200b and Wray were defensive and dishonest during the hearing raises serious questions about their commitment\u2062 to upholding the\u2062 Constitution. Instead of acknowledging \u2063the wrongdoing of their agencies and promising reform,\u2062 they chose to deflect and deny. This behavior only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-the-fbi-violated-the-privacy-act-to-undermine-trumps-presidential-appointments-watchdog-report\/\" title=\"FBI's Privacy Act breach exposed in report on undermining Trump's appointments.\">erodes \u200dpublic trust<\/a> and confidence in the DHS and FBI.<\/p>\n<p>It is crucial that these issues are\u200d addressed and resolved.\u200d Government\u2064 agencies must \u200dbe held\u2064 accountable for their actions and ensure that they respect and protect the rights enshrined in \u2062the First \u2064Amendment. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jennifer-granholm-under-fire-for-promoting-proterra-an-electric-vehicle-company-she-served-on-the-board-of-and-held-stock-in\/\" title=\"Jennifer Granholm Under Fire for Promoting Proterra, an Electric Vehicle Company She Served on the Board of and Held Stock in\">public deserves transparency<\/a> and honesty from the leaders of these \u2063agencies, especially \u2064when it\u2062 comes to matters of free speech and civil liberties.<\/p>\n<p>Senator \u200cPaul&#8217;s line of questioning during the hearing has shed light on the concerning \u2063state of affairs within the DHS and FBI. It is\u200c now up to Congress and \u2062the American people to demand \u200baccountability and push for reforms that safeguard the First\u2064 Amendment rights of all citizens. The assault\u2062 on free speech \u200cmust be confronted and halted, for the sake of preserving the democratic values that make \u2064America a beacon of freedom and democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DHS Secretary Mayorkas and FBI Director Wray faced tough questioning from Sen. Rand Paul on their agencies&#8217; infringement of the First Amendment. The Missouri v. Biden case revealed how the DHS and FBI suppressed free speech, leading to scrutiny during a Homeland Security Committee hearing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1623,"featured_media":2085603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2085602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1623"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2085602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2085603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2085602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2085602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2085602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}