{"id":2333844,"date":"2024-08-29T19:08:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T23:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hawley-wants-mayorkas-fired-for-perjury-over-censorship-denial-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-29T19:13:06","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T23:13:06","slug":"hawley-wants-mayorkas-fired-for-perjury-over-censorship-denial-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hawley-wants-mayorkas-fired-for-perjury-over-censorship-denial-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawley wants Mayorkas fired for &#8216;perjury&#8217; over censorship denial &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"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\">24<\/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%2Fhawley-wants-mayorkas-fired-for-perjury-over-censorship-denial-washington-examiner%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=2333844&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>Homeland\u2063 Security Secretary\u200d Alejandro \u2064Mayorkas is facing criticism from Republican Senator Josh Hawley for allegedly\u200c lying to Congress about the Biden administration&#8217;s involvement in content censorship on social media platforms. The scrutiny arises after Meta CEO \u2064Mark Zuckerberg stated in a congressional letter that \u2063senior officials from the\u2064 Biden administration had pressured Facebook to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ags-sue-biden-over-suppression-of-free-speech\/\" title=\"AGs Sue Biden Over Suppression of Free Speech\">censor content related<\/a> to COVID-19\u2062 during the\u2064 pandemic. Mayorkas \u2064had previously denied any involvement in\u2063 advising social\u200d media companies to\u200d remove \u2063what they considered false \u2064information. Following\u2062 Zuckerberg&#8217;s\u2064 claims, Hawley\u2063 accused Mayorkas of perjury and called\u200c for his dismissal. The\u200c Department of \u200dHomeland Security \u2064(DHS) declined to comment on \u200bthese allegations, while the \u2063White House defended its actions \u200cas efforts \u200bto encourage responsible practices during a health crisis,\u200b asserting that tech companies should make \u200bindependent decisions regarding information \u2063presentation.  <\/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\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Hawley says Mayorkas should be fired for &lsquo;perjury&rsquo; over censorship denial<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1738922\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is facing fresh GOP scrutiny after Meta CEO <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3134499\/mark-zuckerberg-admits-censorship-vows-curb-election-donations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Mark Zuckerberg&rsquo;s admission\">Mark Zuckerberg claimed<\/a> that senior Biden administration officials &ldquo;repeatedly pressured&rdquo; Facebook during the pandemic to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kug-a9bPTZw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"censor content\">censor content<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Mayorkas previously denied to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) in congressional testimony that his agency was involved in telling social media companies to remove information they deemed false about COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>In the wake of the censorship allegations from Zuckerberg, Hawley accused Mayorkas of perjuring himself and called on him to be fired in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Zuckerberg finally admitted what everybody already knew: The Biden-Harris Administration coerced Big Tech to do its dirty work, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-block-amendment-to-ban-stimulus-funds-from-going-to-chinese-communist-party-tied-entities\/\" title=\"Democrats Block Amendment To Ban Stimulus Funds From Going To Chinese Communist Party-Tied Entities\">censoring free speech<\/a> about COVID and the 2020 election,&rdquo; Hawley said on Thursday. &ldquo;We knew Mayorkas was behind this &mdash; even if he denied it to Congress. Add perjury to the list of reasons he should be fired.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Mayorkas denied to the Senate Homeland Security Committee in November 2022 that the Department of Homeland Security pressured social media companies to censor pandemic-related content.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is unequivocally false, senator,&rdquo; Mayorkas said in a series of questions from Hawley.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You are not pressuring the Big Tech companies to take down accounts?&rdquo; Hawley said. &ldquo;You are not meeting with them to ask them to censor on your behalf?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Mayorkas responded, &ldquo;That is correct. We are not.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>DHS was under fire at the time over a since-scrapped plan to set up a &ldquo;Disinformation Governance Board&rdquo; that Republicans said would lead to the unconstitutional infringement of free speech. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, is housed under DHS and has faced <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/new-report-reveals-cisa-tried-cover-censorship-practices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>allegations<\/a> of &ldquo;colluding&rdquo; with Big Tech to censor conservatives.<\/p>\n<p>DHS declined to comment on the claims of perjury and censorship and directed the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> to the White House. In a statement, the White House said it &ldquo;encouraged responsible actions&rdquo; during a health emergency but supports tech companies &ldquo;making independent choices.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this administration encouraged responsible actions to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kroger-closing-more-stores-due-to-seattles-mandated-hazard-pay-for-workers\/\" title=\"Kroger Closing More Stores Due To Seattle\u2019s Mandated \u2018Hazard Pay\u2019 For Workers\">protect public health<\/a> and safety,&rdquo; a spokesperson said. &ldquo;Our position has been clear and consistent: We believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people while making independent choices about the information they present.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Zuckerberg told the House Judiciary Committee this week in a letter stemming from a congressional investigation into content moderation that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, was told by government officials to shield specific content during the pandemic. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn&rsquo;t agree,&rdquo; Zuckerberg wrote.<\/p>\n<p>He described the pressure as &ldquo;wrong,&rdquo; expressed regret for their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mark-zuckerberg-admits-censorship-and-vows-to-curb-election-donations-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Mark Zuckerberg admits censorship and vows to curb election donations - Washington Examiner\">content moderation choices<\/a>, and said that Meta will &ldquo;push back&rdquo; and be more vocal on future government attempts to influence content.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any Administration in either direction &mdash; and we&rsquo;re ready to push back if something like this happens again,&rdquo; Zuckerberg wrote.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) also criticized the past denials from Mayorkas.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is the agency that was trying to set up the Disinformation Governance Board, as if some bureaucrats can tell Americans what they can say and what they can&rsquo;t say under the First Amendment,&rdquo; Jordan said on Fox News. &ldquo;This is crazy. So of course he&rsquo;s wrong.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>David Sivak contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1738922\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1738922\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senator Josh Hawley has called for the dismissal of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, accusing him of perjury regarding allegations of censorship. This comes after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that high-ranking officials in the Biden administration pressured Facebook to censor certain content during the pandemic. In previous congressional testimony, Mayorkas denied any involvement from his agency in instructing social media platforms to remove what they considered false information about COVID-19. Following Zuckerberg&#8217;s claims, Hawley asserted that Mayorkas lied under oath and should be held accountable. He remarked that Zuckerberg&#8217;s admission confirmed suspicions about the administration&#8217;s coercion of tech companies to suppress free speech related to COVID-19 and the 2020 election. During a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing in November 2022, Mayorkas firmly rejected accusations that his department pressured social media firms regarding pandemic-related content. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faced criticism at that time over a now-abandoned initiative aimed at creating a &#8220;Disinformation Governance Board,&#8221; which Republicans argued would infringe on free speech rights. DHS has not commented on the perjury allegations but referred inquiries to the White House, which stated it supports responsible actions during health emergencies while allowing tech companies to make independent decisions about content moderation. In a recent letter to Congress, Zuckerberg revealed that government officials had urged Meta for months to censor specific COVID-19-related material and expressed frustration when their requests were not met. He acknowledged this pressure as inappropriate and indicated Meta\u2019s intention to resist future governmental influence over its content policies. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan also criticized Mayorkas&#8217; earlier denials, highlighting concerns over attempts by bureaucrats to dictate First Amendment rights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3403,"featured_media":2333845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/hawley-mayorkas-censorship.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[6371,3690,5058,20992],"class_list":["post-2333844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-censorship","tag-hawley","tag-mayorkas","tag-perjury"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/hawley-mayorkas-censorship.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2333844","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\/3403"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2333844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2333844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2333845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2333844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2333844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2333844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}