The folly of the “Weaponization Subcommittee”’s report on the Hunter Biden letter: Rep. Jim Jordan’s committee is trying to make a massive political scandal out of the 2020 letter from 50 retired intelligence officers, claiming the Hunter Biden laptop story had the hallmarks of Russian disinformation. But there’s no scandal here at all.
Another Day, More Hunter Biden Drama
When Republicans took over the House of Representatives in January, they created a new subcommittee, known as the “Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.” A subcommittee on the House Judiciary Committee, the Weaponization panel in its opening months has looked at the “Twitter Files,” as well as other nefarious things the government is supposedly doing.
In recent weeks, the Weaponization Subcommittee has seized on one particular thing: A letter, written in October of 2020, in which more than 50 former intelligence officers alleged that the story about Hunter Biden’s laptop “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information.”
And then, in testimony to two Congressional committees last month, a signatory to the letter, Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morrell, testified that Antony Blinken, then a foreign policy adviser to the Biden campaign and now the Secretary of State, had played a part in the letter. Morrell also made it clear that his part in the letter was to help Biden defeat Trump in the election, including by helping to give Biden a talking point in the subsequent presidential debate.
Now, the Weaponization Committee has released a 65-page interim report on the matter titled “THE HUNTER BIDEN STATEMENT: HOW SENIOR INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY OFFICIALS AND THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN WORKED TO MISLEAD AMERICAN VOTERS.”
“The public statement by 51 former intelligence officials was a political operation to help elect Vice President Biden in the 2020 presidential election,” one conclusion says. “The Biden campaign took active measures to discredit the allegations about Hunter Biden by exploiting the national security credentials of former intelligence officials.”
The report also alleges that “The Committees have evidence that an employee affiliated with the CIA may have assisted in obtaining signatories for the statement.”
Just Politics?
However, there’s not much here that shows this to be any type of major scandal, but rather political people engaging in normal politics, rather than, say, “election interference.”
A few things must be said: It’s almost certain the signatories of the letter believed at the time that the laptop story had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” If they knew that to be wrong, and decided to say so anyway, there would likely be an email trail of participants saying just that.
Also, open letters in politics are extremely common. On the day the letter was released, it was pretty clear to just about everyone who read it that it was a brief against Donald Trump, with several of the signatories people who had been sharply critical of Trump in other venues, such as John Brennan and James Clapper.
Furthermore, everyone of note who participated in the letter, from Blinken to Morrell to the several former CIA directors who signed it, was out of government at the time of the letter. If Blinken had participated in the drafting of such a letter while he was the sitting Secretary of State, that might have been scandalous, but at the time he was merely a foreign policy adviser to Biden’s campaign.
And because none of the people behind the letter were in government at the time, it’s unclear where the “weaponization of government” is. House Republicans made a similar error a few months ago when they implied that the Biden campaign — which was not, of course, the government in 2020 — had “censored” tweets.
The “employee affiliated with the CIA [who] may have assisted” with the letter is a possible avenue of investigation, but the report is vague about who that is.
The signers of the letter may deserve some criticism for being wrong, as the laptop probably was not, in fact, Russian disinformation, even though it was known at the time that Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani had been digging up dirt on Hunter Biden in Ukraine for months, which at the time made the claim look plausible.
But it’s abundantly clear that no crime, and nothing especially scandalous, took place here.
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Expertise and Experience:
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
SCOTT
May 10, 2023 at 9:54 am
Looks like a scandal to me. Morell lied to those 51 dupes, who were naive or dumb enough to fall for it. (they may have been out of the government, but for some reason they kept their security clearances; they should have known better, but they were lied to obviously). The real scandal is lefties still keep saying about the Hunter laptops, “nothing to see here, move along.” Today is the day, though, Comer promised something big. Is he a shifty Schiff, lying about what he has, or is he telling the truth? We’ll see.
Clayton L Spires
May 10, 2023 at 9:55 am
What about those documents found in Joe Bidens home Hunter lived in? Hunter exposed classified documents to the Chinese and the FBI knows it. Joe made money off it. Manchurian Candidate Biden, compromised like a lot of Democrats. Seems the whole Biden clan received money from them while TS/SCI was being passed right under their noses, supposably.
Both Bidens should be arrested for treason, espionage and the mishandling of TS/SCI. Selling us right down the river to the Chinese.
Patrick Ho Chi-Ping and Ye Jai Ming are the keys.
Connect the dots. Lost Classified documents found in Joe Bidens home and office. Going back decades. Let’s start with a real investigation into any criminal operations, activities and/or endeavors our current sitting President may have played a part in.
Did the Bidens pass TS/SCI to the Chinese who paid for Hunters partying, rent and other activities? Let’s start there then work our way down the Manchurian Chain gang. Garland already knows the answer.
There’s proof that Hunter Biden exposed classified documents to unauthorized people who have connections to other countries intelligence agencies and breached national security. What exactly are the classifications of those documents found in Joes home? Who’s been there?
Why isn’t the MSM asking these questions? Anyone? Hello. All I hear is the wind blowing across the open plains on this ever-expanding topic.
This is a PRAIRIE FIRE NO ONE IS TOUCHING. Why is that? It can bring down a Presidency, but the MSM is hardly touching it. Non-Bias Journalism. pfft.
How much of it did Hunter know about and who else has had access to the home. Did Patrick Ho Chi Ping ever gain access to these documents and pass them onto his Chinese intelligence friends? The reported rent Hunter was paying Joe is exorbitant and would be a way to pass money to ‘The Big Guy.”
Are our nation’s most closely guarded secrets going adrift from this Country’s Highest Office? Looks that way to me.
WHY ISN’T HE ARRESTED YET?
jeff
May 10, 2023 at 12:28 pm
19fortyfive’s apologists for the Biden administration are working overtime. The writer even states the laptop was PROBABLY not Russian disinformation. Words mean things and this writer is calling a proven fact “probably”.
Don Jones
May 10, 2023 at 1:21 pm
Let’s get with it, GOP: The voters care about the economy, their childrens’ education, equal rights, etc., and not some imaginary scandals cooked up to keep the extreme right occupied! D. Jones.
gmmay70
May 10, 2023 at 2:13 pm
No mention of the PCRB’s involvement and approval of the letter? The CIA is most assuredly an active part of the federal government. No mention that the CIA is not cooperating with congressional oversight in this matter?
Jim Higgins
May 10, 2023 at 5:08 pm
The whole Biden family has sold the souls that they do NOT have to the CCP. They merit a name change to “Arnold as in Benedict Arnold.”
Gary Jacobs
May 10, 2023 at 5:28 pm
Meh, you may turn out to be right on a technicality… and as much as I detest Trump, the LapTop turned out to be real.
+Biden used it as a talking point during a debate.
So his son was lying through his teeth, and Joe Biden couldnt or wouldnt get the truth out of him to speak accurately to the American People..
As well, this didnt happen in a vacuum.
The Steel Dossier was also a steaming pile of BS.
The tragic irony is that all this Anti-Trump fakery obscured the very real issue of Paul Manafort’s dealings with a Russian controlled oligarch. Among other questionable Trump dealings in Russia.
Still, as it turned out Trump pushed the 3 Seas Initiative, as well as massive increase in our own oil and gas production.
He also was chastised for calling out Angela Merkel, in public at a press conference, on Nord Stream 2 making Germany beholden to Russia for NatGas.
Three things very detrimental to Putin.
In the end, Trump is so terrible over all that I have to hold my nose and vote for Biden this time around. And that’s saying a lot because I agree with Biden on a grand total of about 2 things: Ukraine, and denying China cutting edge chip tech.
GhostTomahawk
May 10, 2023 at 5:43 pm
You’re correct. Blinken didn’t say “make me this letter”.
Morrell a Biden supporter who wanted Trump out took the initiative and created this letter and had it signed. Everyone knew the lap top was real. That would make 2 consecutive presidential elections where the US Intelligence services actively swayed voters from the truth by serving lies utilizing their credentials to manufacture consent. To which the media gobbled up and forced into your empty mind. Giving Joe Biden with less brain power than this author talking points.
Yes our govt is rigging elections. That’s nothing new. It’s not Russia. It’s us. When Hillary lost “It was Russia” when they were going to lose “It was Russia”.
When are yall going to stop falling for the same trick? Maybe if you can’t stop falling for it you should stop voting.
GhostTomahawk
May 10, 2023 at 6:21 pm
If there was no quid pro quo involved why did the Biden Team thank Morrell for the letter??
Like my wife doesn’t ask me to put it down on her but she sure thanks me..
That is what happened here. Both parties KNEW what was being asked AND THAT kind of behavior is what we need to eliminate. Then we need to imprison THOSE people and those connected to it.
Rick
May 10, 2023 at 8:32 pm
Republican idiots in a snipe hunt.