Hunter Biden laptop letter
On October 14, 2020, the Hunter Biden laptop controversy began when the New York Post published a story about a laptop that belonged to Hunter Biden that had been abandoned at a Delaware computer shop in 2019.[1] Five days later, a group of 51 former senior intelligence officials, who had served in four different administrations, including the Trump administration, released the Hunter Biden laptop letter, an open letter stating that the laptop "has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation".
By May 2023, no evidence had publicly surfaced to support suspicions that the laptop was part of a Russian disinformation scheme.[2][3] FBI investigators handling Hunter Biden's laptop quickly concluded in 2019 "that the laptop was genuinely his and did not seem to have been tampered with or manipulated".[4] PolitiFact wrote in June 2021 that the laptop did belong to Hunter Biden, but did not demonstrate wrongdoing by Joe Biden.[5]
Details
[edit]Three days prior to the letter's release, House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff said on CNN, "Well we know that this whole smear on Joe Biden comes from the Kremlin ... Clearly, the origins of this whole smear are from the Kremlin, and the president is only too happy to have Kremlin help and try to amplify it," though Schiff did not specifically refer to the laptop story. During an interview with Fox News on October 19, 2020, Trump's Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe disputed Schiff's statement, saying "there is no intelligence that supports that", and accused Schiff of mischaracterizing the views of the intelligence community by describing the alleged emails as part of a smear campaign against Joe Biden.[6] Schiff's spokesman accused Ratcliffe of "purposefully misrepresenting" the congressman's words.[7] In March 2021, two months after Ratcliffe left as DNI, the intelligence community he had overseen released analysis finding that proxies of Russian intelligence promoted and laundered misleading or unsubstantiated narratives about the Bidens "to US media organizations, US officials, and prominent US individuals, including some close to former President Trump and his administration."[8]
Further dispute over the interpretation of the letter arose when, on the day of its release, Politico published a story with the misleading headline, "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say," though the body of the story did not support that wording. Instead, the story's lede accurately quoted the letter's words: "has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation".[9] During the second 2020 presidential debate held on October 22, 2020, Joe Biden repeated the article's misleading claim in stating, "Look, there are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plan".[10] He would later repeat the claim in a 60 Minutes interview held on October 25, 2020.[11]
Reactions
[edit]Many Republicans and their allies have since cited the Politico headline to insist the intelligence community had lied for the benefit of Joe Biden in the election weeks later and The Wall Street Journal noted in 2022 how failure on the part of several media outlets to thoroughly investigate the Biden campaign's claims played a role in shaping public perception prior to the election.[12][better source needed]
On February 13, 2023, The Washington Post fact-checker wrote that the Politico headline "likely shaped perceptions of the letter that continue to this day."[13] Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper asserted the letter's message had been distorted, saying "all we were doing was raising a yellow flag that this could be Russian disinformation. Politico deliberately distorted what we said. It was clear in paragraph five."[14] Another signer, longtime State Department and intelligence official Thomas Fingar remarked, "No one who has spent time in Washington should be surprised that journalists and politicians willfully or unintentionally misconstrue oral or written statements." Despite the criticism, Politico stood by the story.
Former Politico reporters Marc Caputo and Tara Palmeri said on 23 January 2025 that, because of "dumb decisions of cowardly editors", they were told "Don’t write about the laptop, don’t talk about the laptop, don’t tweet about the laptop". Caputo said the Politico story about the letter had a "terrible, ill-fated headline ... because the Hunter Biden laptop appeared to be true".[15]
Revocation of security clearances
[edit]On January 20th 2025, Donald Trump issued an executive order revoking the security clearances of all the officials who signed the letter. The executive order states "The signatories willfully weaponized the gravitas of the Intelligence Community to manipulate the political process and undermine our democratic institutions". Lawyers including Mark Zaid and Dan Meyer said that the revocation can be challenged in court.[16][17][18]
Signatories
[edit]| Name | Agency | Positions held | Current position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Clapper | DNI | Director of National Intelligence (2010–2017) Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence |
CNN National Security Analyst |
| Michael Hayden | CIA | Director, Central Intelligence Agency (2006–2009) | George Mason University Visiting Professor |
| Leon Panetta | CIA | Director, Central Intelligence Agency (2009–2011) | |
| John Brennan | CIA | Director, Central Intelligence Agency (2013–2017) White House Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor |
NBC News and MSNBC National Security Analyst |
| Thomas Fingar | DNI | Chair, National Intelligence Council (2005–2008) Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis |
Stanford University, Payne Distinguished Lecturer National Committee on United States–China Relations, Board of Directors |
| Rick Ledgett | NSA | Deputy Director of the National Security Agency (2014–2017) | M&T Bank, Board of Directors, |
| John McLaughlin | CIA | Acting Director, Central Intelligence Agency (2004) Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency |
Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence |
| Michael Morell | CIA | Acting Director, Central Intelligence Agency (2012–2013) Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency |
Beacon Global Strategies Senior Counselor |
| Mike Vickers | DoD | Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (2011–2015)
Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency |
BAE Systems Board of Directors |
| Doug Wise | DIA | Deputy Director Defense Intelligence Agency Senior CIA Operations Officer |
|
| Nick Rasmussen | DNI | Director, National Counterterrorism Center (2014–2017) | |
| Russ Travers | DNI | Acting Director, National Counterterrorism Center (2018–2020) Deputy Director, National Counterterrorism Center |
Deputy Homeland Security Advisor |
| Andy Liepman | DNI | Deputy Director, National Counterterrorism Center Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency |
RAND Corporation, Senior Policy Analyst[19] |
| John Moseman | CIA | Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency Director of Congressional Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency |
|
| Larry Pfeiffer | CIA | Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency
Director, White House Situation Room |
Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security, George Mason University, Director |
| Jeremy Bash | CIA | Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency Chief of Staff, Department of Defense |
Beacon Global Strategies, Managing Director |
| Rodney Snyder | CIA | Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency Director of Intelligence Programs, National Security Council |
|
| Glenn Gerstell | NSA | General Counsel, National Security Agency | Beacon Global Strategies[20] |
| David B. Buckley | CIA | Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency Democratic Staff Director, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence |
United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, Staff Director[21] |
| Nada Bakos | CIA | Analyst and Targeting Officer, Central Intelligence Agency | Foreign Policy Research Institute, Senior Fellow[22] |
| Patty Brandmaier | CIA | Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency Deputy Associate Director for Military Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency |
Died in 2023[23] |
| James B. Bruce | CIA | Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency Senior Intelligence Officer, National Intelligence Council |
RAND Corporation, Adjunct Researcher[24] |
| David Cariens | CIA | Intelligence Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency | |
| Janice Cariens | CIA | Operational Support Officer, Central Intelligence Agency | |
| Paul Kolbe | CIA | Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency Chief, Central Eurasia Division, Central Intelligence Agency |
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Senior Fellow[25] |
| Peter Corsell | CIA | Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency | I Squared Capital, Partner |
| Brett Davis | CIA | Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency Deputy Director of the Special Activities Center for Expeditionary Operations, CIA |
New North Ventures, Partner[26] Died in 2023[27] |
| Roger Zane George | CIA | National Intelligence Officer | Occidental College, Professor |
| Steven L. Hall | CIA | Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency Chief of Russian Operations, Central Intelligence Agency |
CNN contributor |
| Kent Harrington | CIA | National Intelligence Officer for East Asia, Central Intelligence Agency Director of Public Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency |
|
| Don Hepburn | CIA | Senior National Security Executive | Boanerges Solutions, President |
| Timothy D. Kilbourn | CIA | Dean, Sherman Kent School of Intelligence Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency PDB Briefer to President George W. Bush, Central Intelligence Agency |
|
| Ron Marks | CIA | Officer, Central Intelligence Agency Twice former staff of the Republican Majority Leader |
George Mason University, Visiting Professor |
| Jonna Hiestand Mendez | CIA | Technical Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency | |
| Emile Nakhleh | CIA | Director of the Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program, Central Intelligence Agency Senior Intelligence Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency |
University of New Mexico, Director of National Security Programs[28] |
| Gerald A. O'Shea | CIA | Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency Served four tours as Chief of Station, Central Intelligence Agency |
|
| David Priess | CIA | Analyst and Manager, Central Intelligence Agency PDB Briefer, Central Intelligence Agency |
Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security, George Mason University, Senior Fellow [29] |
| Pam Purcilly | CIA | Deputy Director of Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency Director of the Office of Russian and European Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency |
|
| Marc Polymeropoulos | CIA | Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Acting Chief of Operations for Europe and Eurasia, Central Intelligence Agency |
Atlantic Council, Nonresident Senior Fellow[30] |
| Chris Savos | CIA | Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Officer | |
| Nick Shapiro | CIA | Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Director, Central Intelligence Agency | Tulane University[31] |
| John Sipher | CIA | Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency Deputy Chief of Russian Operations, Central Intelligence Agency |
Atlantic Council, Nonresident Senior Fellow[32] |
| Stephen Slick | CIA | Senior Director for Intelligence Programs, National Security Council Senior Operations Office, Central Intelligence Agency |
University of Texas at Austin, Director of Intelligence Studies Project |
| Cynthia Strand | CIA | Deputy Assistant Director for Global Issues, Central Intelligence Agency | |
| Greg Tarbell | CIA | Deputy Executive Director, Central Intelligence Agency Analyst of the Soviet Union and Russia, Central Intelligence Agency |
|
| David Terry | CIA | Chairman of the National Intelligence Collection Board Chief of the PDB, Central Intelligence Agency |
|
| Greg Treverton | DNI | Chair, National Intelligence Council | University of Southern California, Professor |
| John Tullius | CIA | Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency | Naval Postgraduate School, National Intelligence Chair[33] |
| David A. Vanell | CIA | Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency | |
| Winston Wiley | CIA | Director of Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency Chief, Counterterrorism Center, Central Intelligence Agency |
|
| Kristin Wood | CIA | Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency PDB Briefer, Central Intelligence Agency |
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Non-Resident Fellow[34] |
In addition, nine additional former IC officers who cannot be named publicly also supported the arguments in this letter.
References
[edit]- ^ Herridge, Catherine; Kates, Graham (November 21, 2022). "Copy of what's believed to be Hunter Biden's laptop data turned over by repair shop to FBI showed no tampering, analysis says". CBS News. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ Prokop, Andrew (March 25, 2022). "The return of Hunter Biden's laptop". Vox.
- ^ Broadwater, Luke (May 16, 2023). "Officials Who Cast Doubt on Hunter Biden Laptop Face Questions". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 23, 2024.
- ^ Barrett, Devlin; Viser, Matt (June 23, 2023). "Whistleblower accounts show Hunter Biden's laptop had little role in IRS probe". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 23, 2024.
- ^ Drobnic Holan, Angie; Kertscher, Tom; Sherman, Amy (June 14, 2021). "Donald Trump's "I was right about everything," fact-checked". PolitiFact. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ^ Dilanian, Ken (October 19, 2020). "Ratcliffe says no proof, but FBI probing foreign tie to "Biden" laptop". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ Swanson, Ian (October 19, 2020). "Ratcliffe, Schiff battle over Biden emails, politicized intelligence". The Hill. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ Cohen, Zachary; Cohen, Marshall; Polantz, Katelyn (March 16, 2021). "US intelligence report says Russia used Trump allies to influence 2020 election with goal of 'denigrating' Biden". CNN. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ Bertrand, Natasha (October 19, 2020). "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say". Politico. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ "CPD: October 22, 2020 Debate Transcript". www.debates.org. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ O'Donnell, Norah (October 26, 2020). Joe Biden: The 60 Minutes 2020 Election Interview (Television production). Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Hunter Biden's Laptop Is Finally News Fit to Print". The Wall Street Journal. March 18, 2022. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Kessler, Glenn (February 13, 2023). "The Hunter Biden laptop and claims of 'Russian disinfo'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ "Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails". via Politico. October 19, 2020. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails, provided to the New York Post by President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement -- just that our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.
- ^ Schorr, Isaac (January 23, 2025). "'Don't Write About the Laptop, Don't Talk About the Laptop': Ace Reporters Claim Politico Killed Negative Biden Stories". Mediaite. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
- ^ Office of the Press Secretary (January 20, 2025). "Holding Former Government Officials Accountable For Election Interference And Improper Disclosure Of Sensitive Governmental Information". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved January 20, 2025 – via National Archives.
- ^ "Trump takes aim at dozens of high-ranking former intel officials". POLITICO. January 21, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ "Trump moves to suspend clearances of ex-intel officials who signed letter on Hunter Biden laptop". AP News. January 21, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ "Andrew Liepman – Foreign Policy". April 18, 2013.
- ^ "Beacon Global Strategies". September 16, 2022.
- ^ "Staff director for 1/6 committee accused of retaliating against whistleblower | CNN Politics". CNN. July 24, 2021.
- ^ "Nada Bakos - Foreign Policy Research Institute".
- ^ "Patricia Ann Brandmaier Obituary". The Record and Herald News. March 29, 2023 – via northjersey.com.
- ^ "James B. Bruce - Publications".
- ^ "Paul Kolbe". September 20, 2023.
- ^ "Brett Davis". New North Ventures.
- ^ "In Memoriam −− Brett Davis". The Cipher Brief.
- ^ "Emile Nakhleh".
- ^ "David Priess | Lawfare".
- ^ "Marc Polymeropoulos".
- ^ "Nick Shapiro". July 17, 2023.
- ^ "John Sipher".
- ^ "John D. Tullius".
- ^ "Kristin Wood". July 5, 2023.
External links
[edit]- Controversies of the 2020 United States presidential election
- October 2020 events in the United States
- Mass media-related controversies in the United States
- Political controversies in the United States
- Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign
- Hunter Biden
- Allegations
- Laptops
- Central Intelligence Agency controversies