Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) confronted President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the National Archives and Records Administration in a heated exchange on Tuesday that included perjury accusations.
Dr. Colleen Shogan told the Senate last year that she would not turn over her Twitter posts, which had been made public prior to her nomination, because they were only about “mystery novels, events about the White House Historical Association, Pittsburgh sports teams, travels, and my dog,” thereby denying accusations of partisanship.
At a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Tuesday, Hawley reminded Shogan of those remarks, which were made under oath, and that she was also under oath at the time. Shogan then confirmed the accuracy of his statement.
Following that, Hawley confronted Shogan about partisan Twitter posts that had nothing to do with the topics she claimed they were about.
Shogan bemoaned the removal of mask requirements for children in February 2022. Shogan supported the prohibition of assault weapons in May 2022. She chastised Sen. Ted Cruz in January 2021. (R-Texas). Shogan criticized then-President Donald Trump in December 2020. Shogan stated in December 2021 that religious flags on the lawn of the Library of Congress needed to be removed, despite the fact that they were legally permitted to be there.
Shogan, however, refused to respond. Instead, Shogan told Hawley after each encounter with her own words, “My social media is in my personal capacity.”
Report Hawley eventually gave up.
“I have to say, I’ve been in the Senate for four years,” he finally said. “I’ve never seen such a witness stonewall before. Never. And I’ve seen quite a bit.
“This is extraordinary,” the exasperated senator added. “I mean, this is unbelievable, and you want to be the archivist of the United States. You lied to us under oath. You lied to us in your [Questions for the Record]. You just lied to me a second ago under oath. And now you’re sitting here stonewalling, not answering questions about public posts that you’ve made.”
