ICYMI: Senator Marshall Questions DHS Secretary Mayorkas on AFP Foundation’s Disclosure He Used Personal Emails for Official Business
By | October 31, 2023
ARLINGTON, VA—In a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) hearing today, Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) questioned DHS Secretary Mayorkas on AFP Foundation’s recent disclosure he used personal emails for official business. Click HERE to watch the video.
Sen. Marshall Questions Sec. Mayorkas on Use of Personal Emails for Official Business
In May, Americans for Prosperity Foundation obtained over 400 pages of emails showing DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas using his personal email account and cell phone for official business. The records were acquired as part of AFPF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and lawsuit.
In response to today’s questioning, AFP Foundation Director of Investigations Kevin Schmidt said:
“While Secretary Mayorkas claims he follows the rules “scrupulously,” he continues to fail to answer basic questions in oversight hearings or provide responses to letters like the one Senator Marshall and other Senators sent him over three months ago.
“We still don’t know why there are over 400 pages of emails of Secretary Mayorkas using his personal email account and cell phone for official business. We still don’t know if he is complying with agency rules that require DHS records to be “removed from the non-[DHS] email account once [you] ha[ve] ensured the capture of [the] email information”. We still don’t know if he uses other unofficial forms of personal electronic communication for DHS business.
“There are serious concerns about whether or not Secretary Mayorkas fully complied with DHS policy and other applicable records-management laws, and his non-statements in the hearing today did nothing to dispel those concerns.”
