| July 26, 2023 |
| Secretaries of State from throughout the country are concerned federal agency election interference may continue in 2024; |
| Mac Warner meets with Congressman Jim Jordan; Delivers letter from Secretaries of State for congressional help to prevent potential election interference from federal agencies |
| Washington, D.C. – WV Secretary of State Mac Warner continues to be a national leader in election security while ensuring that the federal government does not improperly impact the results of the upcoming 2024 presidential election. During the recent National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) conference held in Washington, D.C, Secretary Warner met with House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan to discuss growing concerns that former federal agency officials lent their name and titles to collude with the Joe Biden campaign in 2020 in an effort against then-President Donald Trump. Jordan’s committee investigation has revealed the FBI withheld important information from the public that had a major impact on public opinion while other federal officials colluded with social media organizations to weaken the impact of breaking news regarding candidates in the race. In addition to the House Judiciary Committee investigation, there is a Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. Warner and Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston presented Jordan with a letter from several Secretaries of State who are deeply concerned over the report’s findings released by Chairman Jordan’s Judiciary Committee. A copy of the letter can be found HERE. The letter from states’ chief election officials calls for Congress to continue their investigation and hold leaders of the federal agencies involved accountable for any improper activity. “The full weight of the U.S. government should be used to ensure free and fair elections in the future,” the letter said. “To cast informed ballots, Americans need transparency into actions by former and perhaps current federal government officials to weaponize false information for political purposes. Congress should hold perpetrators accountable,” the letter continued. Congressman Jordan led his Committee and Subcommittee through a series of recent public hearings uncovering a number of misleading activities by former federal officials, the FBI, and current U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the 2020 election cycle. Those hearings included testimony from a number of high-profile witnesses who are federal government employees. Last week, Jordan released a report from the Committee on the Judiciary that concluded that federal agencies did, in fact, improperly warn social media companies that a pending release of information was a “hack and leak” operation when they knew that the information was legitimately in the possession of the FBI. The report also stated that the federal agencies suppressed information sharing with the American public to intentionally influence the outcome of the election favoring Biden. The report cites evidence from a recent court action, “[a]s the federal court in Missouri v. Biden explained in damning language, the FBI’s actions prevented millions of Americans from having a clear understanding about a salient issue in the 2020 presidential election.” “We expect and prepare for election interference and disinformation from foreign governments but federal agencies meddling in our elections will never be tolerated,” Secretary Warner told Congressman Jordan. “Americans expect impartiality from our own government. We expect nothing less than secure, fair, and transparent elections,” Warner said. |
