The White House won’t say whether President Joe Biden stands by his baseless 2020 claims that stories about his son’s laptop were part of a Russian operation, following new revelations about the federal investigation into Hunter Biden.
Despite offering no proof, Biden’s 2020 campaign, along with many in the media, dismissed the October 2020 laptop story as a Russian disinformation operation. A recent report from the New York Times said emails from the laptop were authentic, which multiple other outlets had previously concluded.
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When asked if Biden stood by his claims during a debate against former President Donald Trump that an explosive New York Post story was part of a Kremlin effort, White House press secretary Jen Psaki dodged on Thursday.
“I’d point you to the Department of Justice and also to Hunter Biden’s representatives,” Psaki said on Thursday. “He doesn’t work in the government.”
When it was pointed out that she had also dismissed the laptop story as Russian disinformation in 2020, she repeated: “I’d point to the Department of Justice and Hunter Biden’s representatives. I’m a spokesperson for the United States. He doesn’t work for the United States.”
The Justice Department declined to comment. Prosecutors are reportedly investigating Biden’s son for foreign lobbying violations related to his overseas business dealings (likely in places such as China, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan) in addition to scrutinizing his taxes.
During an October 2020 presidential debate with then-President Donald Trump, then-candidate Biden dismissed the emails from a laptop belonging to his son as part of a “Russian plan” or “Russian plant” as he inaccurately cited a letter that dozens of former intelligence officials had signed and as he contradicted Trump’s spy chief, who said there was “no intelligence” that it is part of a Russian disinformation operation.
“Joe, they’re calling you a corrupt politician,” Trump said. “Take a look at the laptop from hell.”
Biden responded by claiming: “There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plan. They have said this is, has all the — four, five former heads of the CIA, both parties say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage.”
Trump responded, “You mean the laptop is now another ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ hoax?”
Biden countered, saying: “That’s exactly what I was told.”
Trump replied, “This is where he’s going. The laptop is ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’? You have to be kidding. Here we go again with Russia.”
GOP CONDEMNS BIG TECH FOR CENSORING HUNTER BIDEN STORY IN 2020
Biden was referring to a Politico report about the letter in an article titled “Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say.” The title was misleading because the letter never directly called the laptop Russian “disinformation” — though it did baselessly allege Russian involvement, claiming the laptop story “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
The signatories included Obama CIA Director John Brennan, Obama Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former George W. Bush CIA Director Michael Hayden, former Obama CIA Director Leon Panetta, and former Obama acting CIA Director Mike Morell.
“Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say,” Psaki herself tweeted at the time.
When asked in December 2020 whether he stood by his claims that the laptop story was Russian disinformation, then President-elect Biden replied, “Yes, yes, yes. God love you, man. You’re a one-horse pony, I tell you.”
Psaki dismissed concerns in July 2021 about Biden being aware of his son’s foreign business pursuits despite indications on Hunter Biden’s laptop and in his own book that he may have been trading on access to his father.
A reporter noted then that Joe Biden asserted in September 2019 he had “never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.” The reporter then pointed to an event Hunter Biden had set up in 2015 with a number of international figures, which emails indicate that then-Vice President Joe Biden at least stopped by.
Psaki replied: “The president does not discuss business dealings with family members, and otherwise, I’m not going to respond to Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer.”
Last year, the Daily Mail reported emails showing the younger Biden organizing an April 2015 dinner at Georgetown’s Cafe Milano with a guest list including Ukrainian energy giant Burisma adviser Vadym Pozharskyi.
A March 2015 email from Biden said of the dinner: “Dad will be there but keep that btw us for now.” The younger Biden also wrote an email about a potential guest list, including one for “Vadym.”
Pozharskyi sent an email on April 17, 2015, saying: “Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together.” Joe Biden’s team has denied such a meeting.
Psaki was asked in September 2021 if the White House stood by its claims that the laptop stories were just Russian disinformation, and she replied that it is “broadly and widely known” that “there was a broad range of Russian disinformation back in 2020.” The intelligence community has never said the laptop stories were part of a Kremlin disinformation campaign.
A reporter asked Psaki in December 2021 if she would confirm the laptop belonging to the president’s son was not Russian disinformation, following the publishing of a book titled The Laptop From Hell. She replied: “I neither have the time nor the interest in exploring or reading the book.”
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Then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said in October 2020 that “there is no intelligence that supports that … Hunter Biden’s laptop is part of some Russian disinformation campaign.”
Biden’s son went on a media blitz to promote his memoir last year, where he admitted that the purported laptop could be his but has said he doesn’t remember and that it could have been stolen, he could have been hacked, or Russian intelligence could have been involved, without providing any evidence.
Hunter falsely claimed multiple times in 2021 that a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had assessed that the laptop story was Russian disinformation.
Meanwhile, Chinese and U.S. business records continue to list Hunter Biden as a 10% owner of the Chinese government-linked investment firm BHR Partners as of March, four months after his lawyer said he had completely divested from the venture.
Psaki was asked Friday if the president’s son had indeed divested, and if so, who had bought his stake and for how much. She didn’t give a clear answer, saying only, “He’s a private citizen. He doesn’t work for the government. I’d point you to his representatives.”
