Several of the 51 former intelligence officials who signed a letter casting doubt on the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 presidential election have ended up serving in roles with President Joe Biden’s administration.
In less than three years, the Biden administration has brought on six out of the 51 former intelligence official signatories of the October 2020 letter arguing that the leak of emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” Earlier this week, Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) selected three signatories of the letter to join a federal “intelligence experts” national security group, according to an announcement on Tuesday. (RELATED: Hunter Biden Admits Laptop Data Is Real After White House, Media Insisted For Months That It Wasn’t)
The group is comprised of private sector experts who will provide their unique perspectives on the federal government’s intelligence enterprise to DHS’s I&A and the Office of the Counterterrorism Coordinator. (2/2)
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 19, 2023
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former CIA Operations Officer Paul Kolbe will be members of the new group, which will advise DHS on intelligence and national security matters including “terrorism, fentanyl, transborder issues, and emerging technology,” according to the DHS announcement. All of them signed onto the October 2020 letter casting doubt on the legitimacy of the Hunter Biden laptop before the presidential election.
The Daily Caller News Foundation verified the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop contents in October 2020.
Moreover, Biden’s DHS previously designated Hunter Biden laptop letter signatory Nicholas Rasmussen to be Counterterrorism Coordinator in November 2022. Rasmussen was one of three DHS officials who announced the membership of Clapper, Brennan and Kolbe in the new DHS group, which will meet four times per year.
“The homeland threat environment is more diverse, dynamic, and challenging than at any point in our post 9/11 history, with threats tied to an array of different terrorist and violent extremist ideologies and narratives,” Rasmussen said in the announcement. “The experience, expertise, and perspective offered by Experts Group members will undoubtedly put the Department in a strong position to confront this threat landscape, and we are grateful for the willingness of the Experts Group members to serve in this important capacity.”
The New York Post first reported on Hunter Biden’s laptop contents on Oct. 14, 2020, and Twitter — now X — promptly censored it, preventing people from sharing it publicly and privately. The former intelligence officials signed and published the letter five days afterward.
Facebook also suppressed the story after coordinating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Former Deputy CIA Director Michael Morrell testified to the House Judiciary Committee that then-Biden senior adviser Antony Blinken, who is now the secretary of state, “triggered” the creation of the letter. Former CIA Chief of Staff Jeremy Bash, who signed the letter, connected Morrell to then-Biden campaign chairman Steve Richetti to receive a thank you call from him.
Biden later appointed Bash to his Intelligence Advisory Board.
Biden also appointed signatory Russell Travers as Deputy Homeland Security Advisor for his National Security Council; Travers served from January 2021 to October 2021.
Another signatory, David Buckley, was a staff director of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol from July 2021 to January 2023, but this was not a Biden administration role.
DHS, the White House, and representatives for the signatories did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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