State Department official pressed by congressman over ‘censorship of conservatives’

EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is demanding extensive information from a top Biden administration official on the federal government’s “censorship of conservatives,” according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Acting Coordinator Daniel Kimmage for the State Department-housed Global Engagement Center, which works with the FBI and other agencies purportedly to fight “disinformation,” was pressed by Republicans last week on the House Foreign Affairs Committee over the office granting $100,000 in 2021 to the Global Disinformation Index, a British group starving conservative media of advertising dollars. On Wednesday, Issa submitted a two-page list of questions for the record to Kimmage, with the aim of understanding whether the GEC has “regret” over funding the Global Disinformation Index and others seeking to “demonize” disfavored speech.

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“The GEC didn’t make much of a case for its budget, especially given its unapologetic support for censorship of American citizens,” Issa told the Washington Examiner, referring to the Oct. 25 hearing. “And questions show just how much more it has to answer for.”

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is considering not reauthorizing the Global Engagement Center in 2024, according to two sources familiar. In the hearing, GOP lawmakers took particular aim at Kimmage for the GEC bankrolling the Global Disinformation Index. The British think tank labeled various conservative media outlets, including the Washington Examiner, New York Post, Daily Caller, and RealClearPolitics, as purveyors of “disinformation,” documents show.

“The Global Engagement Center does not do any work domestically, and we don’t have any position on any U.S. media outlets at all,” Kimmage said in the hearing. “We don’t do any work in the U.S. media environment.”

A spokesperson for the Global Engagement Center told the Washington Examiner that “GEC is always happy to make itself available and support Congress in its important role of conducting oversight.”

“We were grateful for the opportunity to speak with members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, and we look forward to working with the subcommittee on advancing the critical U.S. National Security interest of countering foreign state and foreign non-state disinformation,” the spokesperson added.

Issa wrote in his list of questions that the GEC “has partnered with organizations that have attempted to censure the free speech rights of Americans” and asked to know whether the interagency “regret[s] any aspect of these grants or subgrants.” The congressman also cited how the GEC spent $275,000 in 2021 to help make a video game called Cat Park that “inoculates players against real-world disinformation,” according to State Department documents obtained by America First Legal and Foundation for Freedom Online.

“Can the GEC commit to terminating all partnerships with organizations that target American conservatives?” Issa asked.

“Does the GEC believe that unsettled scientific debates should be treated as settled facts for purposes of assessing whether an opinion is misinformation?” the congressman also asked.

This year, the GEC has been the target of several congressional investigations over its ties to efforts to label right-leaning voices as “disinformation” or “misinformation,” including from the House Small Business Committee and Oversight Committee, led by Rep. James Comer (R-KY). Meanwhile, in September of last year, the State Department’s inspector general published a report finding the interagency failed to vet how foreign groups used federal funds and didn’t take enough steps to thwart foreign threats.

“Has the GEC sought to counter options — abroad or domestically — supporting regulated or curtailed immigration, limited government, free markets, or conservative social mores?” Issa asked.

“Do you think of the GEC as part of a global counterdisinformation ecosystem, and if so, what are the contours of that ecosystem?” the questions continued. “Do you believe the GEC mission includes the countering of bigotry? If so, how do you define this term?”

Issa is requesting to know how the GEC defines “disinformation” and “misinformation” and how many staff members are working on the office’s social media account. He also sent questions related to what metrics the GEC uses to “determine the effectiveness of its work” and its criteria for grantees.

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The 2022 inspector general report found that the GEC “did not conduct risk assessments and obtain authorizations to operate its global and U.S. government analytics platforms,” for instance.

The Washington Examiner contacted the GEC for comment.