Rep. Burchett gives 'Democratic operative' a much-needed burn and requests a grilling for Blinken



This week, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett (R) voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress and demanded an investigation into the former intelligence officials who misled the nation with an election-influencing letter about the Hunter Biden laptop in October 2020.

The Tennessee congressman also exercised his comedic muscles.

On Monday, a supporter online claiming Burchett's "humor is a national treasure" vowed to protect the congressman from the Ukrainian watch list of persons with apparently verboten opinions.

Burchett recently joined Blaze Media and other American individuals and entities on a Biden State Department-linked publication's list of Americans who have expressed apparently verboten views about American aid for Ukraine.

Burchett's initial response — "And what about my wit, charm, intellect and boyish good looks?" — did not go over well with one X user, who called the congressman a "traitor" to his state and to America.

The congressman wrote back, "Your sweet words melt on my heart like butter and honey on a warm biscuit and leave an indelible mark on the digestive tract of my heart."

Burchett evidently did not meet his quota for weekly bants with this brief online interaction.

Burchett shared a video to X Wednesday, wherein he can be seen walking past a young man in khaki shorts while on his way to ostensibly attend to his duties in the Capitol.

"Representative, will you commit to opposing a nationwide abortion ban?" asked the young man, identified by Burchett as a "paid Democrat operative" who daily "tries to trip me up."

Without missing a beat, Burchett responded, "Will you commit to putting some sunscreen on those legs? Man, I gotta wear welding goggles out here, they're so white."

— (@)

The former Knoxville mayor also publicly admitted to giving one of his customary monologues on video only to realize he had forgotten to hit record. When a commenter suggested the Republican "pulled a Biden," Burchett provided a note of clarification: "Except I know where the soft serve ice cream machine is in the Whitehouse (sic)."

Burchett did not, however, appear to be kidding when he asked House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) in a letter Tuesday to launch an immediate investigation into Secretary of State Antony Blinken and "certain former intelligence officials for interfering in the 2020 presidential election."

James Clapper, Michael Hayden, Leon Panetta, and various other former intelligence officials active in the Obama years penned an open letter on Oct. 19, suggesting that the New York Post's report on Hunter Biden's incriminating laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."

The 51 signatories allowed Politico, other media outlets, and then-candidate Joe Biden to infer from their letter that the Post's story was untrue and "consistent with some of the key methods Russia has used in its now multi-year operation to interfere in our democracy."

The signatories of this election-influencing letter have proven unrepentant, even when confronted on multiple occasions with the authenticity of the Hunter Biden laptop and the accuracy of the Post's report.

In his letter, Burchett zeroed in on particulars in the Post's report, specifically that the laptop "contained emails suggesting [Hunter Biden] was attempting to provide Ukrainian energy officials access to meet then-Vice President Joseph R. Biden."

Extra to noting the veracity of the laptop, which helped get Hunter Biden convicted this week, Burchett referenced former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell's testimony implicating Blinken as having "played a role in the inception" of the intelligence officials' letter.

Morell told Congress that Blinken contacted him after encountering the damning Oct. 14, 2020, Post article, and that as a result of this exchange, he began drafting the letter with the aim to get it out before the Oct. 22 presidential debate, in which Biden used the statement to great effect.

"These findings suggest the Biden campaign conspired with former intelligence officials to mislead the American public and influence the 2020 presidential election," wrote Burchett.

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'Had to be real': Intel official who signed infamous letter discrediting Hunter Biden laptop story makes stunning admission



One of the former intelligence officials who signed the infamous letter used to exonerate Hunter Biden in the court of public perception admitted in a recent interview that he signed the letter despite believing the laptop was mostly authentic.

What is the background?

After the New York Post broke the Hunter Biden laptop story just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, Democrats and the media rushed to claim that the story and its timing were characteristic of a Russian disinformation campaign.

Specifically, the media pushed a letter signed by more more than 50 former intelligence officials to discredit the laptop story. The letter claimed the story had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."

"If we are right," the letter went on to say, "this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this."

What is happening now?

Douglas Wise, a former senior CIA operations officer and former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy director, admitted that most of the letter's signatories believed a "significant portion" of the laptop story was authentic at the time they discredited it.

"All of us figured that a significant portion of that content had to be real to make any Russian disinformation credible," Wise told the Australian on Sunday.

Like other intel officials who signed the letter, Wise defended it by claiming it did not necessarily say what the media claimed.

"The letter said it had the earmarks of Russian deceit and we should consider that as a possibility," Wise said. "It did not say Hunter Biden was a good guy, it didn’t say what he did was right and it wasn’t exculpatory, it was just a cautionary letter."

In fact, Wise refused to display contrition for helping drive a narrative that was false. He told the news outlet, "I don’t regret signing it" and pointed to Rudy Giuliani allegedly visiting Ukraine to "to dig up evidence on the Bidens." He also said the "chain of custody" issues surrounding the laptop hard drive cast some doubt on its authenticity.

"Russians or even ill-intended conservative elements could have planted stuff in there," Wise claimed.

Hunter Biden remains under federal investigation for alleged tax crimes and for purportedly lying on a federal form when he purchased a firearm.

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