The “Russian information operation” narrative that was pushed by dozens of former intelligence officials and amplified by the Biden campaign a couple of weeks before the 2020 election was dealt a blow this week when the federal government broke into the laptop of Hunter Biden as evidence for his gun trial.
After years of former intelligence officials, prominent Democrats and the White House downplaying the laptop's authenticity, Hunter's laptop was officially presented as evidence by Biden's Justice Department and is being used to try to prove that Biden He was addicted to drugs at the time he purchased a gun in 2018, a violation of federal law.
The laptop was presented by prosecutor Derek Hines and handed over to FBI agent Erika Jensen, who explained earlier this week how the FBI authenticated the laptop and extracted data. For the gun trial, she testified about dozens of text messages, metadata, photographs and short videos found on phones and iCloud accounts belonging to Biden.
One of the most significant denials of the laptop's authenticity came two weeks before the 2020 presidential election, when 51 former intelligence officials claimed in a letter that the laptop was manufactured by Russia to influence the presidential election.
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President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. (Getty Images)
The crafting of that memo, which was eventually published by Politico, involved coordination between the Biden campaign and former officials, House Republicans concluded in an investigation.
Fox News Digital previously reported that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, sent a Iletter to Secretary of State Blinken last year saying: “Based on Morell's testimony, it is evident 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 story Biden and prevent American citizens from making a fully informed decision during the 2020 presidential election.”
Morell also said he received a call from Biden's White House adviser Steve Ricchetti, who was serving as 2020 campaign chairman at the time, following the Oct. 22 debate. Morell said the call was to thank him for spearheading the letter.
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Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, leaves federal court with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden, on the second day of his trial on criminal weapons charges in Wilmington, Delaware, US, on June 4, 2024. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
According to the GOP report, former CIA senior adviser Nick Shapiro drafted a media speech and sold the letter to The Associated Press, The Washington Post and Politico. He then sent the letter to then-Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates, who is currently the White House's principal deputy press secretary, alerting them before its release and saying, “This is what I gave you.”
“Hunter Biden story is Russian disinformation, dozens of former intelligence officials say,” Bates tweeted after the Politico story was published, including a link to the article.
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Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, boards a vehicle as he leaves federal court on the second day of his trial on criminal weapons charges in Wilmington, Delaware, US, on June 4, 2024. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
“Hunter Biden story is Russian disinformation, dozens of former intelligence officials say,” tweeted Jen Psaki, who later became Biden's White House press secretary.
“If we see tonight from Donald Trump these attacks on Vice President Biden's family, I think we need to be very, very clear that what he is doing here is amplifying Russian disinformation,” said Kate Bedingfield, Biden's deputy campaign manager. He later served as White House Communications Director.
In fact, Biden mentioned the letter during his final debate against former President Donald Trump, saying the laptop was a “Russian plant” and a “bunch of junk.”
“There are 50 former members of national intelligence who said what he's accusing me of is a Russian plant,” Biden said at the time. “…Five former CIA chiefs, from both parties, say what he says is a bunch of garbage. No one believes it except his good friend Rudy Giuliani.”
Fox News legal editor Kerri Kupec Urbahn posted on social media Tuesday that the prosecution's introduction of the laptop was a key moment in the case.
“The court's biggest takeaway today: The laptop is real, we saw it with our own eyes, it belongs to Hunter Biden, and the FBI and the Department of Justice are using information extracted from it in the weapons case,” Urbah said . “It is curious if the 50-plus intelligence experts plan to release an updated letter in time for this year's debates.”
The White House and Biden campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News Digital's Jessica Chasmar and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
