[ad_1]
Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed at the Cabinet meeting that the Biden administration’s State Department holds documents to Americans accused of serving as a “vector of disinformation” that includes files from unidentified Trump administration officials.
“We had an office in the State Department, which was about censoring Americans,” Rubio told a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday. “And by the way, I’m not going to say who it is. I’ll leave it to them. Today, at least one person had relevant documents at this table to build social media posts and identify them as disinformation providers. We have these related parties. We hand them over to these individuals.”
Vice President JD Vance asked, “Was it me or Elon?” [Musk]? You can follow up when the media is gone.
“But think about that. The US State Department has established an office to monitor social media posts and commentaries of American citizens and identify them as vectors of disinformation,” Rubio continued. “When you know that freedom of speech and transparency is the best way to fight disinformation.
Rubio overhauls the “bloated” State Department in sweep reform
Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed at the Cabinet meeting that the Biden administration’s State Department holds relevant documents for Americans accused of “vectors of disinformation.” (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
“There’s no office to do that.”
Rubio announces closure of State Department efforts “were supposed to be dead already”
Rubio appears to be referring to an office within the State Department, previously known as the Global Engagement Centre, and officially closed earlier this month.
Former President Barack Obama established the small Global Engagement Centre office in 2016 through an executive order aimed at coordinating the message of terrorism to foreign countries. (Getty Images)
When it announced the major reorganization of the State Department, the Global Engagement Centre engaged with media outlets and platforms to censor speeches it opposed, Rubio said. The center has been accused of censoring them by conservatives.
For example, journalist Matt Taibbi previously reported that the centre “funded a secret list of subcontractors and helped pioneers unlock new forms of insidious and ridiculous blacklists during the pandemic, reported by Fox Digital, reported in 2024.
He added that the Global Engagement Centre “flagrated it as “Russian persona and proxies” based on the criteria that describe the coronavirus as a designed biological age.”
Twitter boss Elon Musk has accused the agency of being “the worst criminal in US government censorship.”
Rubio did not specify which Trump officials were protecting the Biden administration, but Elon Musk had previously opposed the global engagement center.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not specify which Trump officials maintained the documents the Biden administration had, but Elon Musk previously opposed the global engagement centre. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
“The worst criminals in US government censorship and media manipulation have been posted to X by Musk, posted to X in January 2023. This became the administration’s equipment in a temporary role in the Department of Government Efficiency, more than a year before Musk supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
“They are a threat to our democracy,” Musk added.
Fox News Digital contacted the White House for details of Trump officials being targeted but receiving a reply immediately.
White House proposal axes un, nato fund and half the state department budget
Elon Musk, leader of the Government Efficiency Bureau, opposed the Global Engagement Centre in 2023 (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Former President Barack Obama established a small office in 2016 through an executive order aimed at coordinating counterterrorism messages to foreign countries before expanding its scope to combat foreign propaganda and disinformation, State Department documents show.
In 2024, lawmakers did not approve new funds for the National Defense License Act office and were scheduled to end on December 23, 2024. However, the Biden administration shuffled staff and rebranded the office. The New York Post reported in January, days before Trump’s inauguration, which became a counter foreign information manipulation and intervention hub.
“We are announcing the closure of the State Department’s counter foreign information manipulation and interference (R/FIMI), previously known as the Global Engagement Centre (GEC),,” Rubio said in a statement announcing the closure of its offices in a statement on April 16th.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“Under previous administrations, taxpayers spend millions of dollars on this office, which cost more than $50 million a year, actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they are supposed to serve,” he wrote. “This is in conflict with the very principles that we should support and that it appears to have been in America. That’s over today.”
Michael Dorgan of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
[ad_2]Source link
