Amid concerns raised over possible incursions on free speech, The Federalist’s appeal for a more transparent look into the Pennsylvania Department of State’s partnership with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has been met with significant resistance. The State Department has declined to relinquish pertinent documents and correspondence linked to its collaboration with the agency, which has previously been implicated in operations suppressing free expression.
The Federalist had discovered the state’s partnership with CISA, the pro-censorship government organization, a move purposed to counter threats jeopardizing elections, to include what is being deemed as “misinformation.” However, repeated attempts to derive a clearer understanding of what this partnership entails through Pennsylvania’s Right To Know Request (RTKR) have been largely unmet.
The Federalist, chastising the state for being reticent with important details, highlights that the specifics of the “intelligence” shared among government agencies involved, as well as the usage of such information, remain obscure. Such omissions were demonstrated in an email from Secretary of State Al Schmidt to a group, including CISA affiliates, discussing efforts to enhance “information sharing.”
The opaque nature of the state’s interaction with the agency carried over into protracted delays in furnishing the requested material. Having been informed it would require more than a month to conduct the necessary investigations, the state asked The Federalist to wait a fortnight more for it to sift through pertinent records. The Federalist complied, but following the approval of the extension, was subjected to a string of promises of imminent responses and subsequent extensions, which culminated in finally receiving a response on October 21.
However, the information ultimately dispatched skirted over the core issue, as The Federalist was merely granted access to uncomplicated email correspondence related to planning meetings and events, relevant webinar overviews and conveyed well-wishes for a CISA agent’s recovery following a leg injury. Valuable insight into the state’s functioning with the government censorship hub remained unearthed as they were withheld under the justification of their contribution to “internal, predecisional deliberations” or potential security risks if made public.
The Federalist has lodged an appeal against the state’s decision to keep critical information under wraps, unearthing a similar pattern with House Judiciary Chairman, Jim Jordan. He had earlier in the year pointed out that CISA had failed to meet their subpoena obligations over similar concerns relating to the dubious partnership.
