House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan subpoenaed Nina Jankowicz—the former chief of the Biden administration’s ‘Disinformation Governance Board’—to appear for deposition before the panel.
Separately, Jordan, R-Ohio, on Monday, also subpoenaed Chip Slaven—the former interim executive director and CEO of the National School Boards Association (NSBA)—and Viola Garcia—the former president of the NSBA—to testify before the committee.
The House Judiciary Committee is conducting oversight of the now-disbanded ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ that operated under the Department of Homeland Security. The panel is investigating its creation, activities and related matters.
Jordan, in notifying Jankowicz of her subpoena, said that the committee has ‘repeatedly sought information’ from her concerning her ‘official duties as a DHS employee and former Executive Director of the Board, including how the Board intended to define disinformation, how it planned to collect information and from what sources, how it anticipated countering disinformation, and how it proposed to protect First Amendment rights.’
Jordan reminded Jankowicz that Republicans on the panel first wrote to her in May 2022 requesting her ‘voluntary cooperation’ with their oversight of the board, and again in December 2022. Jordan said the committee reiterated its requests for documents and a voluntary interview in January, February, and March 1 of this year.
‘You have declined to comply voluntarily with our request for a transcribed interview,’ Jordan wrote, notifying her of the subpoena to compel her to appear for a deposition.
Upon her appointment to the board, critics questioned Jankowicz’s ability to be impartial, pointing to her past positions on social media posts, including casting doubt on the legitimacy of reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 election.
Jankowicz ultimately resigned from the post and DHS put the board on pause.
Meanwhile, as for the NSBA officials, Slaven and Garcia co-signed the September 2021 letter to President Biden requesting federal law enforcement assistance to target parents voicing concerns at local school board meetings.
Their letter led to an Oct. 4, 2021 memo, which directed the FBI to partner with local law enforcement and U.S. attorneys to identify parental threats at school board meetings against faculty and ‘prosecute them when appropriate.’
Slaven and Garcia’s testimony will come as part of the committee’s investigation into how the FBI allegedly misused ‘federal criminal and counterterrorism resources’ to target parents at school board meetings.
Jordan has also subpoenaed FBI Director Christopher Wray, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to turn over documents related to the matter.
Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
