{"id":2326496,"date":"2024-08-18T21:33:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T01:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-dhs-sued-over-election-threats-task-force-being-propped-up-in-key-state-of-pennsylvania\/"},"modified":"2024-08-18T21:38:43","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T01:38:43","slug":"bidens-dhs-sued-over-election-threats-task-force-being-propped-up-in-key-state-of-pennsylvania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-dhs-sued-over-election-threats-task-force-being-propped-up-in-key-state-of-pennsylvania\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden&#8217;s DHS Sued Over &#8216;Election Threats Task Force&#8217; Being Propped Up in Key State of Pennsylvania"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/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%2Fbidens-dhs-sued-over-election-threats-task-force-being-propped-up-in-key-state-of-pennsylvania%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=2326496&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--><p>A watchdog group, the Center to Advance Security in America (CASA), has \u200bfiled a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compel the agency&#8217;s response to a Freedom of Information\u200c Act (FOIA) request regarding a task force in Pennsylvania designed to \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doocy-presses-psaki-on-whether-biden-considers-school-board-protesters-domestic-terrorists\/\" title=\"Doocy Presses Psaki On Whether Biden Considers School Board Protesters \u2018Domestic Terrorists\u2019\">address alleged threats<\/a>\u200b to elections. Pennsylvania&#8217;s Democratic Governor, Josh \u200dShapiro, introduced this &#8220;Election Threats Task Force&#8221; with the aim of providing reliable election information and reducing potential \u2062threats. CASA submitted the FOIA request after discovering \u2064reports that the task force was collaborating with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure \u200bSecurity Agency (CISA),\u2064 but has not received any documents or acknowledgment from DHS since then. CASA&#8217;s director emphasized \u200dthe urgency of their request given the\u2062 approaching election and the potential implications of the task force&#8217;s activities on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-governor-elect-katie-hobbs-helped-censor-social-media-speech-while-secretary-of-state\/\" title=\"Arizona Governor-Elect Katie Hobbs Helped Censor Social Media Speech While Secretary of State\">election-related speech<\/a>. The \u2063lawsuit seeks a court order\u200d for DHS to produce the requested documents promptly.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section>\n<p>A watchdog group filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security Friday in an effort to force the agency to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding a task force set up to combat alleged &ldquo;election threats&rdquo; in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania announced the formation of the &ldquo;Election Threats Task Force&rdquo; in a Feb. 29 release, claiming it would provide &ldquo;trusted election information&rdquo; and &ldquo;mitigate threats&rdquo; to elections. The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) says the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged its request seeking information on Pennsylvania&rsquo;s collaboration with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/att-admits-network-breached-massive-hack-impacting-nearly-customers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cybersecurity<\/a> and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), but claims it has received no documents or contact since then, according to court documents provided first to the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>CASA&rsquo;s FOIA request came following a March report by The Federalist that the Shapiro administration was collaborating with CISA as part of the task force, something not explicitly stated in Shapiro&rsquo;s Feb. 29 release.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In March, the Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) submitted a FOIA request to DHS-CISA in order to uncover communications related to the creation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/joe-bidens-daughters-tax-delinquency-gets-settled-state-pennsylvania\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pennsylvania<\/a> Election Task Force, which is designed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-education-department-buys-training-from-dem-consulting-firm\/\" title=\"Biden Education Department Buys Training From Dem Consulting Firm\">censor election-related speech<\/a> that it deems as &lsquo;misinformation&rsquo;. CISA is yet to respond to CASA&rsquo;s request,&rdquo; CASA Director James Fitzpatrick told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Federal law requires the government to respond to FOIA requests within 20 working days of it being received, according to the National Archives. In its suit, CASA is asking the court to order DHS to provide the documents within ten days of its decision.<\/p>\n<p>  <script> \t\t\t\tif( ! getCookie( 'ff_subbed' ) ) if( typeof FFADS.replace_ict !='undefined' ) if( FFADS.replace_ict ) eval( FFADS.replace_ict ); \t\t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;CASA filed this FOIA request to DHS 145 days ago. We are now 80 days from the election, and the public still has not seen the communications on the creation of this task force, which may be empowered to potentially censor election-related speech in the top battleground state in America,&rdquo; Fitzpatrick told the DCNF. &ldquo;We are filing suit to force DHS to comply with the law and immediately provide these records to the American people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Shapiro claimed in the original release that the task force, composed of multiple federal and state agencies and offices, would &ldquo; information and coordinate plans to mitigate threats to the election process, protect voters from intimidation and provide voters with accurate, trusted election information&rdquo; and &ldquo;establish clear, strategic communication and information sharing among public agencies and officials to identify and mitigate threats to the election process.&rdquo; Shapiro also touted a web page that would &ldquo;fact-check&rdquo; claims about the state&rsquo;s election processes in the release.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/justice-neil-gorsuch-sends-biden-warning-proposed-supreme-court-changes-careful\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Supreme Court<\/a> ruled against an injunction provided by a lower court that prevented multiple government agencies, including CISA, from asking social media companies to censor posts on hot-button issues like the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and election integrity in June. CISA and other agencies resumed collaborating with social media companies in March, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said during a conference.<\/p>\n<p>Censorship became a hot-button issue during the 2020 presidential election after Twitter locked multiple accounts, including the personal account of then-White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, for sharing an October 14, 2020 report by the New York Post about the contents of a laptop abandoned by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/hunter-bidens-legal-team-throws-beaus-widow-bus-turning-trial-messy-biden-v-biden-affair\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hunter Biden<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Department of Homeland Security regularly receives and responds to more than half a million Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests each year,&rdquo; a spokesperson for CISA told the DCNF. &ldquo;While the Department makes every effort to respond in a timely manner to each request, the complexity of the request and the FOIA backlog may impact the FOIA office&rsquo;s ability to respond.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p><em>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> <label>* Name<\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> <\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> <label>* <\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> <\/div>\n<p> <label>* Message<\/label> <br \/> <textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea>  <\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\">  <\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A watchdog organization has initiated legal action against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in an attempt to compel the agency to address a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request concerning a task force established to address purported &#8220;election threats&#8221; in Pennsylvania. On February 29, Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro announced the creation of the &#8220;Election Threats Task Force,&#8221; asserting that it would offer &#8220;trusted election information&#8221; and help &#8220;mitigate threats&#8221; to elections. The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) reports that while DHS acknowledged its request for information about Pennsylvania&#8217;s partnership with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), it has not received any documents or further communication since then, as stated in court documents shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. CASA&#8217;s FOIA request followed a March report by The Federalist indicating that Shapiro&#8217;s administration was working with CISA as part of this task force, which was not clearly mentioned in Shapiro\u2019s initial announcement. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In March, CASA submitted a FOIA request to DHS-CISA seeking communications related to establishing the Pennsylvania Election Task Force, which aims to censor what it considers &#8216;misinformation&#8217; regarding election-related speech. CISA has yet to respond,&#8221; said CASA Director James Fitzpatrick. According to federal law, government agencies are required to respond within 20 working days after receiving FOIA requests, as noted by the National Archives. In its lawsuit, CASA is requesting that the court mandate DHS provide these documents within ten days following its ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Fitzpatrick emphasized that \u201cCASA filed this FOIA request 145 days ago. With only 80 days remaining until the election, there is still no public access to communications about this task force potentially capable of censoring election-related discourse in one of America&#8217;s key battleground states.\u201d He added that they are pursuing legal action so DHS will comply with legal requirements and promptly release these records.<\/p>\n<p>In his original announcement, Shapiro claimed that this task force\u2014comprising various federal and state agencies\u2014would coordinate efforts aimed at mitigating threats against electoral processes while protecting voters from intimidation and ensuring they receive accurate information about elections. He also highlighted plans for a webpage dedicated to fact-checking claims related to state electoral processes.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court recently ruled against an injunction from a lower court preventing several government entities\u2014including CISA\u2014from requesting social media platforms censor posts on contentious topics like COVID-19 responses and election integrity issues back in June; CISA resumed collaboration with social media companies earlier this year according Democratic Senator Mark Warner from Virginia during a conference.<\/p>\n<p>Censorship became particularly controversial during the 2020 presidential campaign when Twitter suspended multiple accounts\u2014including then-White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany\u2019s\u2014for sharing an October 14 report by The New York Post regarding Hunter Biden\u2019s abandoned laptop contents.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for CISA informed DCNF: \u201cThe Department of Homeland Security regularly receives over half a million FOIA requests annually and strives diligently for timely responses; however, complexities surrounding certain requests along with existing backlogs may affect response times.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2326497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Picture_100.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3620,7492,38504,4585,5836],"class_list":["post-2326496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-biden","tag-dhs","tag-election-threats","tag-lawsuit","tag-pennsylvania"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Picture_100.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326496","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2326496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2326497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2326496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2326496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2326496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}