Pence: Biden’s 'deeply disturbing' disinfo board must be 'abandoned,' welcomes Musk to Twitter

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Republican-led states threatening legal action if DHS does not disband disinformation board

EXCLUSIVE: The Biden administration's newly formed misinformation board is "deeply concerning" and must be disbanded immediately due to its threat to the free speech of Americans, according to former Vice President Mike Pence.

The Biden administration's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that it created a "Disinformation Governance Board," sparking free speech concerns by both Democrats and Republicans.

During an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Saturday, Pence said the Biden administration's board is "deeply disturbing" since the federal government has "no business regulating free speech."

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"Well, first and foremost, Thomas Jefferson said it well. He said, ‘If I was given a choice between a government with no newspapers or newspapers with no government, I would choose the latter.’ The government has no business regulating free speech along the lines of misinformation or content. I mean, that, I think is deeply concerning, not even commenting on the individual that they've named to lead this board," Pence told Fox News Digital during an exclusive interview on Saturday.

Former Vice President Mike Pence points as he arrives to speak at a campus lecture hosted by Young Americans for Freedom at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, on April 12, 2022. (Photo by RYAN M. KELLY/AFP via Getty Images) (RYAN M. KELLY/AFP via Getty Images)

He referred to the board's executive director, Nina Jankowicz, who previously was a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, and has come under criticism for repeating statements dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story as a "Trump campaign product" and a "Russian influence op."

Pence told Fox News Digital said the creation of DHS' board is particularly concerning as recently conservatives have been taken off social media platforms and news articles, including the Hunter Biden laptop story, have been censored.

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"But I think it should be deeply concerning to any American that in a time when we see conservatives de-platformed on a regular basis, in a time when we are still reeling from an election where major social media companies and major news organizations refused to report on Hunter Biden's laptop, only to admit a year and a half later that it was a legitimate story and is really, it's just disgraceful."

Pence concluded: "So, the administration's efforts on managing misinformation should be abandoned immediately."

FILE - Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington, on March 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) (AP)

When asked by Fox News Digital about the former vice president's view on if Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter will enact any real change on the platform, Pence said he "welcomed" the news of his takeover of the social media company. 

"I welcome news that Elon Musk, who I got to know during my time as vice president, will be taking over Twitter. I have a sense that he understands that it is part of the public square. And I think everybody should be welcome in the public square," said Pence. 

When asked about whether former President Trump should be allowed back on the platform, Pence responded that he hoped Musk would "open the door to everybody."

Former Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News Digital that he continues to "hope and pray" that the justices will send Roe to "the ash heap of history where it belongs." (Kelly Laco/Fox News)

"I mean, there are time honored limitations regarding obscenity, and you can't cry fire in a crowded theater. But beyond those time honored traditions, we are we ought to be able to talk to one another. We all ought to be able to tweet at one another. And I hope Elon Musk will open the door to everybody."

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Pence delivered a commencement address Saturday at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia, during which he called planned protests at churches "unacceptable" in light of the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.

The former vice president told Fox News Digital that he continues to "hope and pray" that the justices will send Roe to "the ash heap of history where it belongs."

"I hope and pray that the majority of the court will return the question of abortion to the states and the American people where it belongs. Now, that will not end the debate over abortion. It will simply open up a new battlefield in the cause of life," Pence explained.