FBI Confirms It Has Hunter Biden's Laptop, Says Story Is Not Russian Disinformation: Report
Federal investigators reportedly have confirmed that the files from Hunter Biden’s laptop are not part of a Russian disinformation effort, as claimed by some Democratic officials and establishment media figures.
John Ratcliffe, the U.S. director of national intelligence, had said Monday that the laptop that belonged to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son “is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign, and I think it is clear that the American people know that.”
A day later, Fox News producer Jake Gibson, citing a “senior federal law enforcement official,” said on Twitter that the FBI confirmed it had possession of the laptop and both the bureau and the Department of Justice agreed with Ratcliffe’s assessment.
ONE senior federal law enforcement official says:
1-The FBI and DOJ concur with DNI Ratcliffe’s assessment that Hunter Biden’s laptop and emails in question were not part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
2-The FBI DOES have possession of the Hunter Biden laptop in question.— Jake Gibson (@JakeBGibson) October 20, 2020
The FBI seized the laptop from a Delaware computer repair shop in December, according to the New York Post.
According to the Post, the files from the laptop suggest that Joe Biden helped Hunter Biden to get ahead in business. Some pertain to a meeting between Biden, at the time vice president in the Obama administration, and a Ukrainian oligarch who was an adviser for Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian company that paid Hunter Biden handsomely to sit on its board.
The fact that the computer repair shop owner sent a copy of the files to President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who later gave the story to the Post, raised suspicion about the reports.
However, the Biden campaign has not denied the files’ authenticity.
The Post’s bombshell stories about Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine and China and his father’s possible involvement received little coverage in the establishment media and were censored by social media platforms.
But Facebook and Twitter’s suppression of the Biden articles backfired, sparking a national conversation regarding social media censorship of political content.
As the Post’s reports gained attention, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California was among those claiming the laptop scandal was direct Russian interference in the presidential election.
“We know that this whole smear on Joe Biden comes from the Kremlin,” Schiff said on CNN.
Rep. Adam Schiff says he’s concerned that he hasn’t “gotten much from the intelligence community” on Russia peddling disinformation.
“At times, some of the leadership, like Director Ratcliffe, not been very forthcoming in terms of the intelligence on the Russian threat.” pic.twitter.com/JhcVYlCgcf
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) October 16, 2020
Ratcliffe rejected that idea Monday in his interview on Fox Business.
“Let me be clear,” he said, “the intelligence community doesn’t believe that because there is no intelligence that supports that.”
“We have shared no intelligence with [Schiff] or any other member of Congress that Hunter Biden’s laptop is part of a Russian disinformation campaign,” he continued.
“If it was I would know that, and it’s not,” Ratcliffe said.
Those on the left continue to use Russia as a scapegoat whenever they dislike or disagree with something, ignoring facts to the contrary.
Should people be skeptical of the New York Post’s reports? Sure. But they should not be immediately dismissed as “disinformation,” either, especially when evidence shows otherwise.
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