Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) asked the Department of Justice to investigate a founding member of the now-defunct Disinformation Governance Board for her pro-censorship activities, after a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Monday.
Schmitt specifically called out Jennifer Daskal, a George Soros-tied individual who previously led the DGB before “disinformation” expert Nina Jankowicz took on the Executive Director rolein 2022. “My contention is the Orwellian name of ‘Ministry of Truth’ was already taken. So the Disinformation Governance Board slid right in, and you were a big part of this,” he said, asking the DOJ to investigate Daskal for her “lie[s]” under oath.
“As for Daskal? She lied under oath in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, likely multiple times. The D.C. Bar, @VenableLLP (her new employer), and the DOJ need to look into what appropriate action might be for something like that. I'm happy to serve as a witness,” Schmitt tweeted Tuesday after the hearing. In fact, when asked if she co-chaired the DGB, Daskal answered “no,” though evidence indicates she was.
Schmitt brought up documentation on the DGB at the hearing, noting that Daskal wrote its charter and asked former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to sign off on it.
“In that charter, there's a few things that you were trying to address, to dispel, as relates to misinformation or disinformation relating to the origins and effects of COVID-19. Is your position that it would have been appropriate for the government to work with social media companies to censor points of view that maybe COVID-19 originated in China?”
Daskal pontificated, “Senator, it's my view that it's not appropriate for the government to censor any points of view.” However, Schmitt swiftly called out her hypocrisy in response: “Literally, you were a part of the Disinformation Governance Board of the United States of America.”
"It is not appropriate for the government to censor any points of view."
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) May 20, 2025
"Literally, you were a part of the Disinformation Governance Board."
I don't think this went as planned for the former co-chair of Biden's Ministry of Truth... pic.twitter.com/LdLXYSspED
Comparing the DGB to a Ministry of Truth, he added, “You wrote the charter, and so I find it kind of rich that you're here expressing concerns about the First Amendment.”
Schmitt also highlighted the 2023 ruling of U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Missouri v. Biden, continued, “A federal district court judge said this was the biggest affront to the First Amendment in the history of the United States of America, this censorship enterprise that the Biden administration engaged in, that you were a big part of.”
Schmitt also pressed Daskal on whether she had input on the choice of Jankowicz to lead the board. Daskal claimed she did not have the hiring authority. However, when Schmitt asked if Daskal knew ahead of time about the “Mary Poppins of disinformation” being hired, Daskal admitted, “I was aware.”
Schmitt’s criticism comes on the heels of an MRC Free Speech America report that calls out 57 Biden censorship initiatives. The Disinformation Governance Board is listed as initiative #6:
“The Board would have coordinated censorship activities for the DHS and strong-armed Big Tech platforms into suppressing conversations the administration disapproved of.
“The Board was set to be run by Nina Jankowicz, a censorship activist who had been a vocal advocate for silencing reporting on the Biden laptop scandal, which she inaccurately claimed was a ‘Russian influence op.’”
Free speech is under attack! Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
