Report a story

Details

Less than a month before the 2020 election, the New York Post published a story that Hunter Biden's laptop was abandoned at a computer repair shop in Delaware and they received copies of his hard drive. Five days later, a group of 51 former intelligence officials issued a public statement cautioning that the story had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation". Although the statement explicitly stated "We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails [...] are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement", it was quickly republished and more widely distributed on Politico with the sensationalized headline "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say".

Trump's Executive Order targeted these former officials for advocating for caution, punishing them for the Politico headline rather than the content of their own words.

References

• Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad (nypost.com)
• Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails (politico.com)
• Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say (politico.com)
• HOLDING FORMER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE FOR ELECTION INTERFERENCE AND IMPROPER DISCLOSURE OF SENSITIVE GOVERNMENTAL INFORMATION (whitehouse.gov)