Hunter Biden was convicted today in part owing to the verified contents of his laptop, which the New York Post reported on before the 2020 election.
A cabal of former U.S. intelligence officials released an open letter on Oct. 19, 2020, regarding the Post's Oct. 14 report about the discovery and damning contents of Hunter Biden's laptop, which the FBI had "verified" one year earlier.
Among the 51 signatories of the letter were:
Their letter asserted that the Hunter Biden laptop story was likely a thing of Slavic fantasy — that the story had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."
While Clapper, Brennan, and the other 49 so-called experts were willing to admit in the letter to both not knowing whether the Hunter Biden emails provided to the New York Post were "genuine" and having no "evidence of Russian involvement," they nevertheless suggested a "laptop op" designed "to discredit Biden ... would be consistent with some of the key methods Russia has used in its now multi-year operation to interfere in our democracy."
The letter was framed thusly by Politico and left uncorrected by the signatories: "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say."
According to the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, then-senior Biden campaign adviser and now-Secretary of State Antony Blinken got the ball rolling on this misleading and election-influencing letter. The letter was allegedly drafted with the aim of setting the narrative before the Oct. 22, 2020, presidential debate, wherein Biden ultimately used it to great effect. Blinken later denied conceiving of or soliciting signatures for the letter.
Even though the story was undermined by the letter and censored online, the laptop was real all along, and its contents — like those of Ashley Biden's troubling diary — were as authentic as they were incriminating. FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen made this especially clear in court last week.
'51 intelligence agents, that phony story. Remember?'
Former President Donald Trump recently suggested that the 51 officials who leveraged their perceived credibility and former status to shield Biden from the truth may soon face a comeuppance.
Trump was recently discussing false narratives spread by the Biden camp and broached the subject of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
"51 intelligence agents, that phony story. Remember? 'The laptop from Russia,' they said. And they should be prosecuted for what they did, okay?" said Trump. "Let's see what happens.
Ahead of Hunter Biden's criminal conviction, Fox News Digital reached out to the signatories of the October 2020 letter, asking whether they regretting misleading the nation. While some of the election-swaying former officials flatly say no, as in the case of Clapper, others doubled down.
Mark S. Zaid, an attorney representing Ronald Marks, Marc Polymeropoulos, Douglas Wise, Paul Kolbe, John Sipher, Emile Nakhleh, and Gerald O’Shea, suggested the letter was important and signing it was "patriotic."
Zaid even suggested that criticism of the letter amounted to disinformation but did not go so far as to pin blame on Russia.
"There continues to be by many a calculated or woefully ignorant interpretation of the October 2020 letter signed by fifty-one former intelligence officials concerning Hunter Biden's laptop," Zaid told Fox.
"A careful and objective reading of the document reflects that even today its content is accurate. It served as nothing more than a warning letter of what we have known for decades: certain foreign governments — including Russia — continue to try and actively interfere in our domestic affairs and our guard must remain vigilant. Every patriotic American should have signed that letter," added Zaid.
Signatory Greg Treverton, former chair of the National Intelligence Council, said, "What we said was true, we were inferring from our experience, and it did look like a Russian operation. We didn't, and couldn't of course say it was a Russian operation. Enough said."
Michael Hayden, who intimated late last year that Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Al.) should be removed from the human race, simply hung up the phone and dodged subsequent requests for comment.
The Post noted that Panetta defended the letter in July 2023, saying he had no regrets about signing it.
"I signed that letter for one reason, which was to make the American people aware that the Russians deliberately were engaged in a disinformation campaign in the United States and trying to impact on our election and trying to impact on our ability to have free and fair elections," Panetta told CNN.
Concerning the letter's additional spin in Politico, Zaid told the Post, "With respect to the Politico story, had I been representing my clients at the time I would have certainly asked for them to modify their headline as it is too categorically and broadly asserted a conclusion that the letter did not."
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Three top officials responsible for protecting the U.S. Capitol and congressional chambers all resigned on Thursday, amid calls for heads to roll after the building was stormed by a mob of angry Trump supporters the day before.
First to go was House sergeant-at-arms Paul Irving, whose resignation was announced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at her weekly news conference. The speaker also called for Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund to resign, criticizing the top cop for a "failure of leadership."
According to The New York Times, Pelosi said of Sund, "He hasn't even called us since this happened." The Associated Press reported that the head of the Capitol Police union also called for Sund to step down.
Chief Sund announced his resignation that evening, writing in a short memorandum that he would remain in his active leadership post on Jan. 17, but then transition into "sick leave status" to use up the 440 hours remaining on his balance of paid sick time off.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) then released a statement confirming that he had "requested and received the resignation of Michael Stenger, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, effective immediately."
Congressional leaders echoed the public dismay over how easily the Capitol building and its chambers were breached.
The AP also reported that three days prior to the protest, U.S. Capitol police turned down an offer from the Pentagon to send National Guard troops to assist in keeping the Capitol grounds secure. The department also turned down the Justice Department's initial offer to send FBI agents on Wednesday as the building was being swarmed.
Capitol police also faced heavy criticism Wednesday when video circulating online showed officers appearing to allow outside barrier gates to open for protesters demanding to enter the premises. TheBlaze made repeated requests seeking comment on the footage Wednesday evening, but never received a response.
Another video published by TheBlaze showed officers using great effort to keep barriers in place, but they were overcome by the mob who forced their way past law enforcement.
In a separate statement Wednesday, McConnell praised the Capitol police officers "who stood bravely in harm's way during yesterday's failed insurrection," before saying that the events of the day "represented a massive failure of institutions, protocols, and planning that are supposed to protect the first branch of our federal government."
The Senate majority leader called for thorough investigations and "significant changes" before concluding:
"The ultimate blame for yesterday lies with the unhinged criminals who broke down doors, trampled our nation's flag, fought with law enforcement, and tried to disrupt our democracy, and with those who incited them. But this fact does not and will not preclude our addressing the shocking failures in the Capitol's security posture and protocols."
The FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations are investigating threats lodged against the state's top election officials according to a report, after leaders became targets of ridicule over the handling of the general election.
President Donald Trump continues to allege that widespread voting fraud and irregularities occurred in Georgia, even placing blame on fellow Republicans despite a recount confirming tallies that indicated Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden won the state.
Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs told Forbes on Sunday that federal and state law enforcement agencies were investigating threats against Raffensperger and his team, but she did not provide further details. The GBI issued a statement confirming it was looking into alleged threats against the state's election officials.
Last week, Raffensperger told The Washington Post that he and his wife, Tricia, had received death threats while he was overseeing a second recount of the state's votes from the Nov. 3 election. The secretary of state said that one text message he received read, "You better not botch this recount. Your life depends on it."
Over the weekend, Georgia's voting system manager, Republican Gabriel Sterling, also said that he had been threatened and harassed.
"So this is fun," he tweeted, sarcastically. "multiple attempted hacks of my emails, police protection around my home, the threats. But all is well...following the the law, following the process...doing our jobs."
So this is fun...multiple attempted hacks of my emails, police protection around my home, the threats. But all is w… https://t.co/jMSNQDL0Kj— Gabriel Sterling (@Gabriel Sterling)1606011811.0
The New York Post reported that "despite calling himself a 'proud' supporter of President Trump, Raffensperger has also found himself repeatedly under attack over the handling of the state's election process after declaring Joe Biden the victor after a hand recount."
President Trump has led the charge on blaming Raffensperger for his performance on the election oversight, and Republican Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue — both up for re-election in runoffs races slated for January — have called for the GOP secretary of state to resign.
Days ago, the president also attacked Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, another Republican and Trump supporter, claiming he and Raffensperger "refuse to let us look at signatures which would expose hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots."
...Why won’t they do it, and why are they so fast to certify a meaningless tally?— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1605901114.0
But Raffensperger refuted the president's claims, writing in a Washington Post op-ed that "in Georgia, signatures for absentee ballot voters are verified twice to ensure that each voter gets one vote — and only one vote."
He added:
The truth is that the people of Georgia — and across the country — should not have any remaining doubts about who was elected governor two years ago or who won the presidential election earlier this month. The presidential outcome was remarkably close, but the new paper-ballot system, the strong election security and integrity mechanisms in place, and the audit and hand recount should combine to put to rest any doubts about the final outcome.
Georgia's vote tallies will be counted a third time, with a second recount set to begin Tuesday morning at the request of the Trump campaign, the Associated Press reported.
The outlet noted that according to Sterling, "counties are to give public notice of when during that period they will be counting so monitors from political parties and any interested members of the public can be there to observe."
The election results, certified last week by Raffensperger, showed Biden winning by 12,670 votes out of about 5 million cast.
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency sent out a press release Thursday declaring that the 2020 general election was "the most secure in American history."
The notice comes as President Donald Trump continues to contest mainstream media's calling Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden the victor in the race, with the Trump campaign alleging voter irregularities and voter fraud in numerous ongoing post-election lawsuits.
Members of the CISA's Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council Executive Committee and its Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council issued a joint statement saying, "The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result."
"When states have close elections, many will recount ballots," the officials continued. "All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience. This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors."
The officials insisted — emphasized with bold letters — that "there is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised."
"While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too," they added, closing by saying, "When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections."
President Trump warned leading up to the election that expanded mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic would open the opportunity for widespread voter fraud that would give Democrats an advantage. Since the election has passed, he has asserted several times that the election was rigged.
Earlier in the day on Thursday, the president tweeted about a report claiming that a program from Dominion Voting Systems—used in 28 states—deleted "2.7 million Trump votes nationwide."
The Trump campaign has also released 234 affidavits regarding alleged voting irregularities in Michigan. TheBlaze managing editor Leon Wolf reviewed them this week and provided a breakdown of the accusations here.
Meanwhile, pro-Trump groups have planned a #StopTheSteal rally in Washington, D.C., slated for Saturday, in support of the president as he fights back against the projected election results.
The Center for Tech and Civic Life, which influenced the 2020 election with "Zuckbucks," announced another round of grants before November.
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