Two members of the House of Representatives want to kill the recently announced “Homeland Intelligence Panel” — featuring three former infamous scaremongers questioning The Post’s Hunter Biden laptop bomb.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) and Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) introduced legislation on Tuesday to strip funding for the group and prevent the creation of similar committees in the future.
“Tens of thousands of immigrants flood our southern border every day while the Biden Administration wastes its resources to set up an ‘Expert Panel’ with people like James Clapper and John Brennan,” Pfluger, who chairs the Homeland Security Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Subcommittee, said in a statement.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the formation of the panel last week, ostensibly to help support the department’s national security apparatus.
Given August Pfluger’s perch and teamwork with Mark Green, aides believe lawmakers have a shot at getting their bill to the House floor. CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
Three of the 17 “experts” — former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former CIA senior operations officer Paul Kolbe — signed an open letter in October 2020 stating The Post’s report on the contents now—the first child’s laptop “has all characteristic of Russian information operations.”
“These people abused their positions of power to perpetuate the Russia Hoax and serve as partisan operatives for the Democratic Party,” Pfluger said.
Shortly after the group was announced, Green and Pfluger wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas raising “serious concerns” about the department’s “impartiality and objectivity.”
Mark Green has clashed with Alejandro Mayorkas in the past, namely over border security. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“Several members of this newly formed group … signed a dubious public statement on October 19, 2020, which falsely implied the New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s political influence peddling was the result of Russian disinformation,” they wrote on September 21.
Both Green and Pfluger also informed Mayorkas that they were conducting oversight of the newly formed panel.
They are demanding all communications among DHS officials and employees about the group’s formation since President Biden took the oath of office as well as materials showing how the 17 experts were selected.
Alejandro Mayorkas praised the new panel of experts, which he argued would help the department stay informed about pressing concerns in the intelligence community.Getty Images
DHS officials have until the close of business on Oct. 5. to replace the material.
“DHS responds to congressional correspondence directly through official channels, and the Department will continue to respond appropriately to Congressional oversight,” a DHS spokesperson told The Post.
Members of the newly formed group are supposed to convene at least four times a year to discuss national security matters, including “terrorism, fentanyl, cross-border issues and emerging technologies,” according to a DHS statement.
The Post’s cover story detailed how few of the letter’s signatories regretted signing the document to discredit The Post.
“The appointment of two notorious Russian fraudsters to the Homeland Intelligence Specialist Group raises serious concerns about the Department’s impartiality and objectivity in intelligence sharing,” Green told The Post Tuesday.
“This committee will not stand idly by as DHS continues to undermine its mission and erode the trust of the American people.”
Open letter 19 Oct. 2020 was handed to Politico, which amplified the story with a false headline: “Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intelligence officials say.”
James Clapper (centre) supported the letter in June, saying he had no regrets. Shutterstock
Biden himself cited the letter three days later to dismiss The Post’s report as a “Russian factory” during his second and final debate against then-President Donald Trump.
Around the time the “lying spies” letter was released, social media companies like Twitter, now known as X, and Facebook blocked The Post’s story on the grounds that it violated policies against posting hacked material — even though the items found on the laptop were not obtained through hacking.
Various news outlets, such as the New York Times, Washington Post and CBS News, have since confirmed the authenticity of the item from the laptop.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
