Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall on Tuesday asked the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to clarify whether it will continue its “breathtaking” acts of political censorship during the 2020 election. published a letter asking them to do so.

Marshall, along with Republican Sens. Eric Schmidt (Missouri) and Bill Hagerty (Tennessee), have urged CISA Director Jen Easterly to “put her in direct conflict with the First National Security Agency.” “To avoid the mistakes of the past, we requested that information about the agency’s handling of American speech be reversed.” According to in a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. CISA worked with the Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) to “harden” social media platforms to censor political speech during the 2020 election. (Related: Exclusive: ‘The knife is out’: Matt Gaetz defends Trump-appointed government watchdog after calls for firing)

“CISA has previously been caught pressuring social media and internet platforms to censor content, which is a clear violation of the First Amendment,” Marshall told DCNF. spoke. “Any effort by the Harris-Biden administration to silence facts and opinions about its failed agenda is not only an abuse of power, it is illegal.As we enter the final stages of the 2024 presidential campaign, we We are fighting against censorship and heavy-handed attacks on online platforms by the federal government.”

During the 2020 election, CISA also engaged in reporting “disinformation” on social media platforms in a process known as switchboarding. According to CISA also created a “portal” for reporting “misinformation” to “circumvent the First Amendment prohibition on government censorship.”

The committee also released emails in November detailing communications between CISA employees directing the censorship of certain content. CISA had full “visibility” of what was being reported as “false alarms” in the EIP, but did not directly report the content.

The letter states, “The First Amendment prohibits the government from abridging free speech,” and the Supreme Court has ruled that when it comes to “core political speech,” “the importance of First Amendment protections is paramount.” “We have reached this point,” the statement reads. “In today’s world, ‘core political statements’ are often found on social media platforms. Instead of respecting these long-standing norms, CISA has worked with partners in the past to violate them and undermine confidence in CISA for many Americans. ” (Related: Exclusive: Republican Sen. Eric Schmidt pressures FBI over ‘indefensible’ bungling in child sex abuse case)

“That is why we are writing to prevent CISA from enforcing favorable and unpopular speech in the future,” the letter continued. “Millions of Americans expect nothing less from their government.”

According to the letter, Marshall and others asked Easterly to confirm that it does not intend to continue the “switchboarding” and censorship practices that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and CISA have engaged in previously. Republican senators also called on the agency to ensure it no longer communicates with social media platforms, universities and commercial organizations regarding content moderation. (Related: Exclusive: Eric Schmidt seeks Garland fork over Jack Smith’s communications related to latest Trump indictment)

“If we want to restore and maintain trust in elections for all Americans, now is the time to act,” the letter reads.

CISA did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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