An adviser to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, now Secretary of State, prompted former intelligence community officials to jointly suggest Hunter Biden’s laptop was “Russian disinformation.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken contacted intelligence officials weeks before the 2020 general election about New York Post reports of Hunter Biden’s laptop. Former Deputy Director of the CIA Michael Morell testified before the House Judiciary Committee that Blinken called him to discuss the Post report. Later the same day, he emailed Morell a USA Today report alleging the FBI was investigating whether the Post report was a Russian disinformation campaign.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) wrote to Blinken April 20 in a joint request with Intelligence Committee Chairman Michael Turner (R-OH). The congressmen asked the Secretary of State to reveal the identities of everyone he communicated with about the laptop letter along with all documents and communications regarding it between October 18-November 24, 2020.
Fox News further reported:
A former CIA official testified that then-Biden campaign senior adviser, now-Secretary of State Antony Blinken “played a role in the inception” of the public statement signed by current and past intelligence officials that claimed the Hunter Biden laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morrell testified before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, and revealed that Blinken was “the impetus” of the public statement signed in October 2020 that implied the laptop belonging to Hunter Biden was disinformation.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Blinken Thursday, notifying him that the panels are “conducting oversight of federal law-enforcement and intelligence matters within our respective jurisdictions.”
“We are examining that public statement signed by 51 former intelligence officials that falsely discredited a New York Post story regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop as supposed Russian disinformation,” they wrote. “As part of our oversight, we have learned that you played a role in the inception of this statement while serving as a Biden campaign advisor, and we therefore request your assistance with our oversight.”
In October 2020, weeks before the presidential election, dozens of ex-national security officials signed onto a letter claiming that Hunter’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
The former officials included former Obama CIA Director John Brennan, former Obama DNI James Clapper, and former CIA director, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, among others.
The lawmakers said that based on Morell’s testimony, it is “apparent” that the Biden campaign “played an active role in the origins of the public statement, which had the effect of helping to suppress the Hunter Biden story and preventing American citizens from making a fully informed decision during the 2020 presidential election.”
“Although the statement’s signatories have an unquestioned right to free speech and free association—which we do not dispute—their reference to their national security credentials lent weight to the story and suggested access to specialized information unavailable to other Americans,” they wrote.
They added: “This concerted effort to minimize and suppress public dissemination of the serious allegations about the Biden family was a grave disservice to all American citizens’ informed participation in our democracy.”
Jordan and Turner notified Blinken that they conducted a transcribed interview with Morell, who signed onto the letter.
“In his transcribed interview, Morell testified that on or around October 17, 2020 you reached out to him to discuss the Hunter Biden laptop story,” they wrote. Blinken, at the time, was a senior adviser to the Biden campaign.
“According to Morell, although your outreach was couched as simply gathering Morell’s reaction to the Post story, it set in motion the events that led to the issuance of the public statement,” they wrote.
Morell testified that the Biden campaign “helped to strategize about the public release of the statement.”
“Morell further explained that one of his two goals in releasing the statement was to help then-Vice President Biden in the debate and to assist him in winning the election,” Jordan and Turner wrote.
Morell testified: “There were two intents. One intent was to share our concern with the American people that the Russians were playing on this issue; and, two, it was to help Vice President Biden.”
Morell was asked why he wanted to help Biden.
“Because I wanted him to win the election,” Morell testified.
Jordan and Turner are demanding Blinken to provide material to help them to “advance” their oversight.
They demanded Blinken identify the people he communicated with about drafting the statement; and produce all documents referring to the statement.
They gave Blinken until May 4 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
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