Murphy Questions State Department Nominees On Trump Administration’s Gag Orders Banning Comments On Election Integrity, Freedom Of Assembly, Defense Of Human Rights

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Wednesday questioned Riley Barnes, nominee to be the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and Bill Bazzi, nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia. Murphy probed Barnes regarding the Trump administration's directive to restrict officials from publicly commenting on election integrity overseas and the removal of basic human rights, like the freedom of assembly, from the State Department's human rights reports. He also pressed Bazzi on whether the Trump administration's current policies would prevent him from protecting human rights defenders and speaking out against violations of human rights in Tunisia.

Murphy slammed the Trump administration's radical dismantling of our international democracy promotion apparatus: "We have seen a pretty unprecedented assault on democracy promotion from this State Department. As you know, 389 of DRL's 391 democracy promotion grants have been canceled…We're not funding any organizations and groups that help us tell the truth anymore… I think this is a watershed moment for our country, if we effectively cease publicly advocating for democracy and the freedom of assembly abroad."

Murphy questioned whether State Department employees can meaningfully advance democracy abroad under Secretary Rubio's election integrity gag order: "How can you tell the truth about an election that is rigged or patently unfair if you have essentially a gag order placed on you by the Secretary telling you to provide no opinion, telling you to not tell the truth, even when you know that an election overseas is not a fair or on-the-level election?"

Discussing a Connecticut resident targeted by a foreign arrest warrant after speaking out against human rights abuses, Murphy pushed Bazzi on how he would protect human rights defenders: "Do you believe that under the current guidance issued to you by Secretary Rubio, you have the ability to speak up for this particular constituent that I know we've raised with you in private meetings? Do you believe that you are limited or in the ways as ambassador that you can speak up against the targeting of human rights defenders, in particular American citizens in and outside Tunisia?"

A full transcript of Murphy's exchanges with Barnes and Bazzi is available below.

MURPHY: Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Barnes, thank you very much for being here. I read and listened to your testimony. I agreed with much of it, especially your focus on telling the truth about the defense of natural rights across the world.

I guess I'm having trouble squaring your testimony with the current reality, because we have seen a pretty unprecedented assault on democracy promotion from this State Department. As you know, 389 of DRL's 391 democracy promotion grants have been canceled. And so I want to understand how you are going to make good on the promises you're making to this committee given the restrictions that exist on you. I'll give you another example. Secretary Rubio has issued a memorandum this summer that says the State Department should avoid opining on the fairness or integrity of an electoral process and simply just congratulate the winning candidate.

So how can you tell the truth about an election that is rigged or patently unfair if you have essentially a gag order placed on you by the Secretary telling you to provide no opinion, telling you to not tell the truth, even when you know that an election overseas is not a fair or on the level election.

BARNES: Yes, Senator, thank you for the question. On making statements about elections, the idea that you're putting something forward publicly… the guidance I received, I was not part of drafting that guidance, but I saw it when it came out, probably just like you did, that public statements aren't put out on that.

I don't think that limits us to raising private concerns. So another thing the Secretary has said regularly is that he espouses what he calls a mature foreign policy, where whether it's an ally or an adversary, we have to be able to raise issues with them.

MURPHY: So when you say telling the truth is important, you mean that to be in private, behind closed doors, you don't believe that telling the truth about the health of a foreign country's democracy or elections needs to be said out loud.

BARNES: I think it's always important to tell the truth. I think we have lots of reporting that does underscore those issues. I think that we listen to many civil society groups on these topics, and we discuss them, certainly internally. But I think we do raise these issues privately. I think we do raise them publicly when it serves American interests.

MURPHY: Is the freedom of assembly a natural right?

BARNES: Yeah, I think I would include that as a natural right.

MURPHY: So can you explain why the freedom of assembly has been removed from State Department Human Rights Reports? It is no longer listed as a right that this administration protects and advances globally.

BARNES: So I've not been in DRL for months now, but I understand the rationale. I don't know the exact rationale for the freedom of assembly, but I know some sections were cut that did not adhere directly to the requested statute. So I know that the Secretary had a vision for the reports being shorter, being more readable and digestible, and reports that tacked as close to statute as possible.

MURPHY: I just don't know how you're actually going to follow through on the commitments you're making in your testimony. We're not funding any organizations and groups that help us tell the truth anymore. We have cut all but two DRL grants. You've got effectively a gag order placed on you that says that, as you admit in front of this committee, you can only raise private concerns about the health of a democracy. You no longer can raise those concerns publicly.

I think this is a watershed moment for our country, if we effectively cease publicly advocating for democracy and the freedom of assembly abroad.

MURPHY: Mr. Bozzi, I want to ask you about how this new direction from the State Department may impact your work. I've been to Tunisia. I think I was the first member of the Senate to meet with Saied when we had some hope that he was going to be a reformer, not a despot. He recently issued an order of arrest for one of my constituents on charges of terrorism. The charge is essentially that my constituent sent a report on human rights abuses to the State Department, and now if he returns to Tunisia, he'll be locked up.

Do you believe that under the current guidance issued to you by Secretary Rubio, you have the ability to speak up for this particular constituent that I know we've raised with you in private meetings? Do you believe that you are limited in the ways as ambassador that you can speak up against the targeting of human rights defenders, in particular American citizens in and outside Tunisia?

BOZZI: Thank you for that question, Senator. And also, I want to thank your staff. I did meet with your staff yesterday. I had a great conversation with your staff. So thank you for that, Senator.

So one of the things that my statement also said, somebody myself that immigrated to the United States, and somebody that grew up in a bad area, during war, you always got to protect, especially as I wasn't American at the time, but, you know, one of being in the military, that's the biggest things that you have to safeguard Americans abroad, and that's one of my missions, to make sure that our Americans are safeguarded in Tunisia, either if they're visiting, working, or they're living abroad.

And if there's any issues and concerns of any of our any Americans been arrested or or detained, of any charge, I will be conferring with our Administration, also with our government counterparts in Tunisia to see what the issues, what the concerns are for whatever issues that they have with that individual, and I relay it here to our United States administration to see what we can do to get that person out.

MURPHY: Thank you. I guess I'm asking you for a broader commitment. I understand your first responsibility is to protect Americans and their safety, but I think it's also important for you to speak up on behalf of the rights of Tunisians, but also Tunisian Americans, when it comes to criticisms of the government. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.