Rep. Thomas Massie Confounds Homeland Security Secretary With Word Salad: ‘Isn’t Malinformation Really True Information?’

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) confounded Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas with his line of questioning over ideology and the definition of “malinformation” during a hearing about security at the US-Mexico border.

Massie read from a terrorism advisory bulletin that said the US remained in a “heightened threat environment” due to “an online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis-, dis-, and malinformation.”

He then asked Mayorkas to define malinformation, to which Mayorkas replied, “Congressman, we’re dealing with false information that is used for a particular purpose.”

Massie then somewhat confusingly replied, “Isn’t malinformation actually true information that may be inconvenient to the establishment orthodoxy?

“I’m sorry, Congressman?” said Mayorkas.

“Isn’t malinformation a made-up word that refers to information that’s actually true but just inconvenient to the government narrative?” Massie clarified.

“That is, that is not true, Congressman,” said Mayorkas.

Massie then moved on to issues of free speech, which Mayorkas pushed back on when words are connected “to violence.”

MASSIE: Is it illegal to undermine public trust in US institutions?

MAYORKAS: Congressman, we become involved because we believe in the First Amendment right and we have safeguards to protect it. We actually have a statutorily created office for civil rights and civil liberties. We become involved not with respect to a particular ideology —we are ideology-neutral — but it’s connectivity to violence —

MASSIE: Isn’t larger government an ideology? The bigger government? Isn’t — Let me ask you my original question: Is it illegal to undermine public trust in government institutions?

MAYORKAS: Congressman, we understand First Amendment principles. We embrace and protect them. Individuals can espouse whatever ideology they believe in. That is a, that is a —

MASSIE: So let me ask you the question. If you would just answer it directly. Is it illegal to undermine public trust in US institutions? Isn’t that, in fact, what we’re doing here today? When we point out that you’ve released a million or 2 million people into this country without trying to deport them? I mean, are we in fact undermining trust in U.S., in your institution? Aren’t we doing that? Isn’t that actually healthy when we point that out?

MAYORKAS: Congressman, may I share with you what the Department of Homeland Security does with respect to ideologies?

MASSIE: I want to, I need to ask you another question since you haven’t answered any of these yet.

Some Republicans have called for Mayorkas to be impeached over his enforcement of US border policies (PDF).

Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.

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