Lankford and Cruz Grill Mayorkas and Buttigieg on “Ministry of Truth”: Board Leader Pushed Steele Dossier and Called Hunter Laptop “Trump Campaign Product”

On 5/8/2022, Senators Lankford and Cruz grilled DHS Secretary Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg over Biden’s new Disinformation Governance Board — dubbed the “Ministry of Truth.” Lankford revealed the board’s appointed leader had pushed the Steele dossier as credible and dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop as “a Trump campaign product.” Cruz asked Buttigieg point-blank whether the government should “silence voices that are politically inconvenient”; Buttigieg called it “a complex philosophical question.” Mayorkas admitted the board’s rollout was “suboptimal” and conceded that under the statutory definition, the U.S. “has never had operational control” of the border.

The Board Leader’s Own Disinformation

Lankford presented the board leader’s public statements as exhibit A of the problem. “On the Steele dossier, which we all know was disinformation — a Clinton campaign document very engaged with the Russians — she went on Twitter saying it ‘provides some great historical context about the evolution of disinformation, worth a listen,’” Lankford said.

“She also responded to a public comment saying, ‘You’re aware that the Steele dossier is a Republican opposition research project.’ That’s clearly disinformation,” Lankford continued.

On the Hunter Biden laptop, the board leader had been quoted in an AP article on October 14, 2020 saying “we view it as a Trump campaign product” and calling the laptop repair shop story “a fairy tale.”

“The person you tapped to lead the disinformation campaign has been outspoken on TikTok and Twitter with disinformation — specifically on election issues,” Lankford said. “Why should we not have suspicions on this?”

Mayorkas: Rollout Was “Suboptimal”

Mayorkas conceded the optics. “You are correct, Senator, that the rollout with respect to this working group was suboptimal, and we need to provide more information not only to this committee and Congress but to the American public,” Mayorkas said.

He argued DHS had been doing disinformation work “for years” alongside the FBI and State Department. But Lankford’s point was that the new board was undefined. “We don’t have a definition of what it is. We don’t have boundaries of what it does,” Lankford said.

Cruz vs. Buttigieg: “Complex Philosophical Question”

Cruz quoted Buttigieg’s own 2019 statement defending free speech, then asked: “Why is the Biden administration putting someone who is an obvious partisan, someone who has engaged in the repeated pushing of misinformation, in charge of a board ostensibly directed at regulating the free speech of American citizens?”

“I think that the use of misinformation—” Buttigieg began.

“Should the government be censoring and regulating the speech of American citizens, yes or no?” Cruz pressed.

“That is a complex philosophical question,” Buttigieg said. “Obviously we believe in free speech, but as you know, you don’t have the right to yell fire in a crowded theater.”

“Should the government silence voices that are politically inconvenient?” Cruz asked.

“As a matter of course in our domestic politics, of course not,” Buttigieg said.

“So why is the Biden administration creating a board to do that?” Cruz asked.

Cruz then posed the Hunter Biden test. “Was the Hunter Biden laptop misinformation?”

“I’m not familiar with all the details of those stories,” Buttigieg said.

“Except it wasn’t Russia. It’s an accurate laptop. The New York Times has acknowledged that after the election,” Cruz said. “And yet the head of this disinformation board happily pushed out that it was disinformation. That is a code word for things that are politically inconvenient."

"Operational Control” Redefined

Lankford pressed Mayorkas on his testimony that the border was under “operational control” despite 221,000 encounters in March alone plus 66,000 “getaways.”

Mayorkas revealed the statutory definition undermined his own claim. “The statutory definition is that operational control means no individual and no controlled substance passes through our border,” Mayorkas said. “Under that strict definition, this country has never had operational control.”

“Over a quarter of a million people crossing the border illegally in one month is not operational control. We’re going to disagree on that pretty strongly,” Lankford responded.

Eight Months for Yes-or-No Answers

Lankford also called out DHS’s responsiveness. “Last year in our budget hearing, I asked you questions for the record. Your team sent me the answers three hours ago — eight months later,” Lankford said. “Some of those were yes-or-no questions.”

“We need to be swifter in providing this committee with responses. I extend that apology to the entire committee,” Mayorkas said.

Key Takeaways

• The Disinformation Board’s appointed leader had pushed the Steele dossier as credible and dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop as “a Trump campaign product” — both proven false.
• Mayorkas admitted the board’s rollout was “suboptimal” and that under the statutory definition, the U.S. “has never had operational control” of the border.
• Cruz asked Buttigieg whether the government should silence politically inconvenient speech; Buttigieg called it “a complex philosophical question.”
• Lankford noted the board had no definition, no boundaries, and its leader had a track record of pushing the very disinformation it was supposed to combat.
• DHS took eight months to answer yes-or-no questions from the committee.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

• The person you tapped to lead the disinformation campaign has been outspoken with disinformation — specifically on election issues.
• The rollout with respect to this working group was suboptimal.
• Should the government censor American citizens’ speech, yes or no? That is a complex philosophical question.
• Was the Hunter Biden laptop misinformation? I’m not familiar with all the details.
• Under that strict definition, this country has never had operational control. Over a quarter million in one month is not operational control.
• Your team sent me the answers three hours ago — eight months later.

Full transcript: 1200 words transcribed via Whisper AI.