House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has subpoenaed ousted Homeland Security Department disinformation board’s Nina Jankowicz. Jordan also sent subpoenas to two former senior officials at the National School Boards Association to answer questions on why they wrote to the Justice Department in 2021 demanding a crackdown on parents who were dissatisfied with the board.
#NEW: @Jim_Jordan subpoenas Chip Slaven and Viola Garcia.
Compels them to appear for a deposition relating to the National School Boards Association decision to label parents as domestic terrorists. pic.twitter.com/qSkSXYj1CU
— Weaponization Committee (@Weaponization) March 6, 2023
Jordan resorted to a subpoena, claiming that other efforts to get Jankowicz to testify have proven futile. She was appointed to head the Disinformation Governance Board. Her appointment left many Conservatives furious as they viewed it as President Biden’s administration clamping down on free speech.
Ironically, Jankowicz, appointed to lead the disinformation board, is famous for spreading fake news, especially when the Hunter Biden laptop story first broke. She had previously said Hunter Biden’s laptop was a foreign disinformation effort.
The officials, Chip Slaven, who was interim director of the national association at the time, and Viola Garcia, who was president of the board, wrote to the Justice Department in 2021, demanding federal authorities go after parents upset at their local school boards. This letter stirred the bias of AG Merrick Garland, who ordered an investigation into a potential threat in the school.
(Washington Times):#Jordan subpoenas #DHS's ousted disinformation chief, school board officials who challenged parents : House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan issued a subpoena Monday to Nina Jankowicz, the woman who .. https://t.co/hitR2t10DT
— NewsOnePlace.com (@newsoneplace) March 7, 2023
Garland said he didn’t order law enforcement to investigate parents, claiming he only directed them to analyze threats and violence.
“Nothing in my memorandum says to investigate parents who are angry, quite the opposite. It says that the First Amendment protects that kind of vigorous debate,” he said. “The only thing we wanted was for an assessment to be made out in the field about whether federal assistance was needed to prevent violence and threats of violence.”
Despite Garland’s denial, Jordan thinks the letter was responsible for the surveillance that surrounded the school.
The subpoena has caused an internal crisis within the school board. The board has scapegoated the organization’s former Slaven and tagged him as the brain behind the letter that linked parents to domestic terrorists. With their date with GOP-Led House confirmed, the board claims Slaven went on a rogue mission.
“The letter directly contradicts our core commitments to parent engagement, local control and nonpartisanship. The sentiments shared in the letter do not represent the views or position of the NSBA. The NSBA does not seek or advocate for federal law enforcement intervention at local school board meetings,” said NSBA Executive Director and CEO John Heim.
