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July 2021 – Present – U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans
June 2019- July 2021 – Transportation Security Administration – Assistant Administrator, Enrollment Services and Vetting Programs
December 2007 – June 2019 – U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Various Positions:
(source)
In 2022, Americans were horrified to learn of the Biden Administration’s plans for a so-called “Disinformation Governance Board.” In a climate of big-tech censorship and collusion between government and social media platforms, this Orwellian sounding entity posed a potential threat to the free political speech of Americans unprecedented in recent history.
According to publicly available emails, Kelli Ann Burriesci was part of the team working on the Disinformation Governance Board. Burriesci was even routinely included on emails from initiative leader, Nina Jancowicz (and was once even CC’d on an email addressed to “Nina and team”). The emails below show Burriesci’s name highlighted as a recipient of emails relating to the Disinformation Governance Board:
(Note: Records released by DHS and posted to their website pursuant to FOIA requests.)
SOURCES:
In 2015, Ms. Burriesci testified before Congress regarding the use of watch lists by the Department. Congressman Trey Gowdy asked Burriesci about whether American citizens are afforded due process before they are placed on such a list. Burriesci answered in the negative and further stated that Americans on these lists could lose their Second Amendment rights.
The exchange devolved from there:
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R., S.C.) questioned a Department of Homeland Security official about the idea that American citizens on the terrorist watchlist should be denied gun rights on Friday.
"What process is afforded a U.S. citizen, not someone who's overstayed a visa, not someone who crossed a border without permission, but an American citizen—what process is currently afforded an American citizen before they go on that list?" Gowdy asked DHS secretary Kelli Ann Burriesci at a House Oversight Committee hearing.
"I'm sorry, um, there's not a process afforded the citizen prior to getting on the list," Burriesci said. "There is a process should someone feel they're unduly placed on the list."
"Yes, there is," Gowdy said. "When I say ‘process’ I'm actually using half of the term ‘due process,’ which is a phrase we find in the Constitution, that you cannot deprive people of certain things without due process. So I understand [Center for American Progress fellow Ken Gude]'s idea, which is to wait until your right has been taken from you and then you can petition the government to get it back. I understand that that's his idea."
"My question is, can you name another constitutional right we have that is chilled until you find out it's chilled, and then you have to petition the government to get it back? Is that true with the First Amendment?"
Burriesci then began to explain the criteria to put someone on the watchlist, but Gowdy interrupted her, saying she was not answering his question. He then asked the question again. "My question is what process is afforded a United States citizen before that person's constitutional right is infringed. [Gude] is fine with doing it with the Second Amendment. My question is how about the first?"
"My question is what process is afforded a United States citizen before that person's
constitutional right is infringed? [Gude] is fine with doing it with the Second Amendment.
My question is, how about the First?"
Gowdy then asked what other constitutional rights DHS might be comfortable infringing upon without due process. How about we
"How about we not let them set up a website?" he asked. "Or a Google account? How about we not let them join a church until they can petition government to get off the list? How about not get a lawyer? How about the Sixth Amendment? How about you can't get a lawyer until you petition the government to get off the list? Or, my favorite, how about the Eighth Amendment? We're going to subject you to cruel and unusual punishment until you petition the government to get off the list."
"Is there another constitutional right that we treat the same way, for American citizens, that we do the Second Amendment?" Gowdy asked. "Can you think of one?"
After a pause, he repeated the question. "Can you think of one?" he asked.
"I don't have an answer for you, sir," Burriesci said as Gowdy's allotted time to ask questions ran out.
Source: Trey Gowdy Grills DHS Official on Due Process, Gun Rights (freebeacon.com)
Watch this exchange below:
Also in 2015, Ms. Burriesci testified before congress about issues related to immigration and terrorism from middle eastern nations. In an exchange with Congressman Jim Jordan, Burriesci did not know a series of basic information regarding the number of persons who had come to the United States and overstayed their visas.
JORDAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Burriesci, earlier this week the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee gave an important speech where he talked about extremist groups, terrorist groups are trying to exploit the refugee program.
So like Mr. Russell just a few minutes ago, I would like to see if you can give us some numbers, just so this committee and the American people have this information. How many Syrian refugees have entered the United States in the last year?
BURRIESCI: Sir, I didn't bring any of my -- any of the refugee numbers with me because I was prepared to talk about visa waiver. But I can certainly have us send that to you.
JORDAN: Do you know how many Americans have traveled to Syria in the last year?
BURRIESCI: I don't have that number on me either.
JORDAN: So you wouldn't know how many Americans have traveled and then returned?
BURRIESCI: I don't have that number on me.
JORDAN: How many visa waiver program overstays are there currently in the United States?
BURRIESCI: Sir, I didn't bring that number with me.
JORDAN: Ms. Burriesci, when I look at the witness list, you've got the longest title. Deputy assistant secretary screening coordination, office of policy, Department of Homeland Security. You've got the longest title and it says screening coordination.
Now what does that -- what are you -- what screening are you coordinating? Is that just intra-agency or is that interagency?
BURRIESCI: It's both. I...
JORDAN: It's both. So it's all of that.
BURRIESCI: I coordinate across DHS components...
JORDAN: And the two biggest issues right now that we are dealing with -- we had these terrible tragedies, terrible terrorist attacks and we're talking about the refugee issue and the visa waiver program issue and you can't give us any numbers on either program?
BURRIESCI: I came prepared to talk about the visa waiver program...
JORDAN: And I just asked you how many visa waiver program overstays are there, and you said you don't know.
BURRIESCI: Sir, I don't have a number. Visa waiver program...
JORDAN: So when I asked you how many visa overstays of the visa waiver program may have traveled to Syria before they go here, do you know that number?
BURRIESCI: Sir, if a visa waiver program national has -- a citizen of a visa waiver program country, rather, has traveled to Syria, Iraq or a conflict zone and they are considered a foreign fighter, that...
JORDAN: No, I'm saying someone from Great Britain comes to the United States on a visa waiver program and they're now an overstay, do we know -- do we know if that person who is here today -- maybe they're not even an overstay, do we know if that person has been to Syria before they came to the United States? Do we know that?
I mean, I know that's what our bill that we just passed earlier this week is trying to get to. I'm asking, do we know that information now?
BURRIESCI: So that's why we have the I.C. involved and there's intelligence assessments and we...
JORDAN: I wasn't asking that. Do we know that? Do you know the number?
BURRIESCI: I don't know the number, but that's why I'm trying...
JORDAN: We have people who are in that category I just described. Come from a visa waiver program country, they are here today and may have been in Syria or Iraq or somewhere there in the last -- before they came here. Do we know that?
BURRIESCI: If a citizen of a VWP country has traveled to one of those areas, there's a nexus to United States or the VWP partner shares that information with us, yes, we know that information and we will vet against it. We will also use our algorithm...
JORDAN: But could they be here right now? Could they be here right now is my question.
BURRIESCI: I don't have that answer, sir.
JORDAN: All right, well, how about can you tell me anything about the no-fly list then? How does a person get put on -- the criteria for that. Can you tell me anything about that?
BURRIESCI: Sir, the no-fly list is a subset of the overall terrorist screening database. The interagency works together. The terrorist screening database is owned and operated by the Terrorist Screening Center, as I said earlier. There are criteria to get on that that are...
JORDAN: How many American citizens are on that list right now? Can you give me that number? How many American citizens are on the no-fly list right now?
BURRIESCI: I know there are American citizens on the list. It is an extremely small number, but I don't have my numbers with me. But again, that's something I can easily get back to you.
JORDAN: Ms. Burriesci, I've asked you the number of Americans who have traveled to Syria. You don't know. The number of Americans who may have traveled and returned, you don't know. The number for Syrian refugees who have entered the country in the last year, you don't know. The number of visa waiver program overstays, you don't know. The number of visa waiver overstays who may have been to Syria before they came here, you don't know. And the number of American citizens on the no-fly list and you don't know.
And yet you are the deputy assistant secretary for screening coordination, office of policy, Department of Homeland Security in front of the Oversight Committee and you can't give us one single number to, I think, some pretty basic questions?
BURRIESCI: Some of those statistics aren't held by DHS and so that's why I would like to work with my interagency...
JORDAN: That's why I referenced your title. You're the one who's the screening coordinator for all this and you said you were interagency. That's why I referenced your title. It seems to me you should...
BURRIESCI: ... I'm a DHS career civil servant employee, and I will work with my interagency partners, but they are authoritative source for a lot of those numbers that you mentioned.
JORDAN: If you could get us those numbers and the one Mr. Russell asked for, that would be very helpful.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Watch this exchange below:
