WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Wednesday in response to an NBC News attempt to silence The Federalist.

“The Federalist is an essential, transparent news media outlet that publishes a diverse array of voices. It employs dogged, must-read reporters who seek the truth by following the facts, and resists the adolescent groupthink that defines so much of the mainstream political press. It analyzes and criticizes politicians and ideas across the ideological spectrum. And its coverage of the world outside politics - of culture, sports, religion and more - is some of the best on the Internet. The Federalist is the type of journalistic organization NBC should aspire to become when it grows up.

“Meanwhile, by acquiescing to this Orwellian sting operation, Google has leant its corporate credibility to a fraudulent, partisan hit job.

“As progressive liberal activists and their journalist collaborators increase their campaign to silence voices that don’t toe their party line, it is incumbent that Google transparently explain how exactly it handled NBC’s attempt to silence The Federalist so that its corporate policies don’t become a weapon for these online mobs.

“If Google thinks websites should be punished for content generated by users on their own sites, that might be a good question for Congress to consider.”