Kash Patel affirmed Thursday that, should he be confirmed as FBI Director, he would halt the FBI’s efforts to coerce Big Tech to censor free speech.
During Patel’s confirmation hearing, Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) challenged Patel on whether he would end anti-free speech initiatives at the FBI and focus on defending Americans and their Constitutional rights. Patel responded that he intends to ensure “no censorship” efforts from the FBI. “Let's focus on investigating interstate crimes,” he added.
Investigating and preventing a replication of the Biden censorship regime at the FBI is top of mind for some Republican senators as The Twitter Files and the landmark Murthy v. Missouri lawsuit exposed the FBI for coordinating censorship with Big Tech entities. Most infamously, the bureau primed Twitter and Facebook to censor the Hunter Biden laptop scandal before the 2020 election.
Hawley emphasized that the FBI is accused of trying to “pressure the largest technology corporations in the world, the most powerful corporations in the world, social media companies.” He asked Patel, “Do you think it's appropriate for the FBI to pressure them to censor the political speech of everyday American citizens, to try and violate the First Amendment?” Patel answered, “No, senator.” He added upon further prompting, “I will work with Congress to expose any corrupt activities the FBI has participated in, especially involved in the censorship of free speech.”
Sen. Hawley continued, stressing the damage done by the previous administration and the need for a pro-free speech FBI director. He argued that “the FBI and other agencies of this government under the last administration pressured, coerced these social media companies to censor speech of everyday Americans on a range of issues, from the Hunter Biden laptop to COVID to the Dobbs decision.” Since “the Constitution doesn't permit the government to do it, the FBI tried to get the social media companies to do it,” Hawley said.
Schmitt, meanwhile, cited the Murthy lawsuit that he originally filed back when he was Missouri’s attorney general and asked Patel a series of questions about his priorities for the FBI. “Would you rather the FBI pressures social media companies into censoring conservative viewpoints, or should it focus on what the FBI should get back to, which is investigating interstate crimes that threaten the well-being of Americans?” Schmitt asked. “No censorship,” Patel replied promptly. “Let's focus on investigating interstate crimes.” This would mark a major shift at the FBI.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment and provide transparency. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
