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Did the CIA and American intelligence community really claim the Biden laptop was a Russian hoax?

Check out what these malicious bastards (can I say that?) actually said in Oct 2020. And who signed this piece of err...


The American Spies Who Spread Disinformation in 2020

Fifty-one former intelligence officials issued a statement saying the Hunter Biden email story had ‘all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.’

Dec. 4, 2022 5:54 pm ET


Editor’s note: The following is a “public statement on the Hunter Biden emails” by 51 former intelligence officials that was released on Oct. 19, 2020. A related editorial on “The Twitter Censorship Files” appears nearby.


We are all individuals who devoted significant portions of our lives to national security. Some of us served in senior positions in policy departments and agencies, and some of us served in senior positions in the Intelligence Community. Some of us were political appointees, and some were career officials. Many of us worked for presidents of both political parties.


We are all also individuals who see Russia as one of our nation’s primary adversaries. All of us have an understanding of the wide range of Russian overt and covert activities that undermine US national security, with some of us knowing Russian behavior intimately, as we worked to defend our nation against it for a career. A few of us worked against Russian information operations in the United States in the last several years.


Perhaps most important, each of us believes deeply that American citizens should determine the outcome of elections, not foreign governments. All of us agree with the founding fathers’ concern about the damage that foreign interference in our politics can do to our democracy.


It is for all these reasons that we write to say that the arrival on the US political scene of emails purportedly belonging to Vice President Biden’s son Hunter, much of it related to his time serving on the Board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.


We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails, provided to the New York Post by President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement—just that our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.


If we are right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this.


There are a number of factors that make us suspicious of Russian involvement.


Such an operation would be consistent with Russian objectives, as outlined publicly and recently by the Intelligence Community, to create political chaos in the United States and to deepen political divisions here but also to undermine the candidacy of former Vice President Biden and thereby help the candidacy of President Trump. For the Russians at this point, with Trump down in the polls, there is incentive for Moscow to pull out the stops to do anything possible to help Trump win and/or to weaken Biden should he win. A “laptop op” fits the bill, as the publication of the emails are clearly designed to discredit Biden.


Such an operation would be consistent with some of the key methods Russia has used in its now multi-year operation to interfere in our democracy—the hacking (via cyber operations) and the dumping of accurate information or the distribution of inaccurate or misinformation. Russia did both of these during the 2016 presidential election—judgments shared by the US Intelligence Community, the investigation into Russian activities by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and the entirety (all Republicans and Democrats) on the current Senate Intelligence Committee.


Such an operation is also consistent with several data points. The Russians, according to media reports and cybersecurity experts, targeted Burisma late last year for cyber collection and gained access to its emails. And Ukrainian politician and businessman Adriy Derkach, identified and sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for being a 10-year Russian agent interfering in the 2020 election, passed purported materials on Burisma and Hunter Biden to Giuliani.


Our view that the Russians are involved in the Hunter Biden email issue is consistent with two other significant data points as well. According to the Washington Post, citing four sources, “U.S. intelligence agencies warned the White House last year that Giuliani was the target of an influence operation by Russian intelligence.”


In addition, media reports say that the FBI has now opened an investigation into Russian involvement in this case. According to USA Today, “. . . federal authorities are investigating whether the material supplied to the New York Post by Rudy Giuliani . . . is part of a smoke bomb of disinformation pushed by Russia.”


We do not know whether these press reports are accurate, but they do suggest concern within Executive Branch departments and agencies that mirrors ours. It is high time that Russia stops interfering in our democracy.


Signed by,


Jim Clapper


Former Director of National Intelligence


Former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence


Former Director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency


Former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency


Mike Hayden


Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Director, National Security Agency


Former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence


Leon Panetta


Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Secretary of Defense


John Brennan


Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency


Former White House Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor


Former Director, Terrorism Threat Integration Center


Former Analyst and Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Thomas Finger


Former Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis


Former Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research, Department of State


Former Chair, National Intelligence Council


Rick Ledgett


Former Deputy Director, National Security Agency


John McLaughlin


Former Acting Director, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Deputy Director, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Director of Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Director, Slavic and Eurasian Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency


Michael Morell


Former Acting Director, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Deputy Director, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Director of Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency


Mike Vickers


Former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence


Former Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Doug Wise


Former Deputy Director, Defense Intelligence Agency


Former Senior CIA Operations Officer


Nick Rasmussen


Former Director, National Counterterrorism Center


Russ Travers


Former Acting Director, National Counterterrorism Center


Former Deputy Director, National Counterterrorism Center


Former Analyst of the Soviet Union and Russia, Defense Intelligence Agency


Andy Liepman


Former Deputy Director, National Counterterrorism Center


Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


John Moseman


Former Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Director of Congressional Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Minority Staff Director, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence


Larry Pfeiffer


Former Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Director, White House Situation Room


Jeremy Bash


Former Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Chief of Staff, Department of Defense


Former Chief Counsel, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence


Rodney Snyder


Former Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Director of Intelligence Programs, National Security Council


Chief of Station, Central Intelligence Agency


Glenn Gerstell


Former General Counsel, National Security Agency


David B. Buckley


Former Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Democratic Staff Director, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence


Former Counterespionage Case Officer, United States Air Force


Nada Bakos


Former Analyst and Targeting Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Patty Brandmaier


Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Deputy Associate Director for Military Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Deputy Director of Congressional Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency


James B. Bruce


Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Senior Intelligence Officer, National Intelligence Council


Considerable work related to Russia


David Cariens


Former Intelligence Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency


50+ Years Working in the Intelligence Community


Janice Cariens


Former Operational Support Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Paul Kolbe


Former Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Chief, Central Eurasia Division, Central Intelligence Agency


Peter Corsell


Former Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency


Brett Davis


Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Deputy Director of the Special Activities Center for Expeditionary Operations, CIA


Roger Zane George


Former National Intelligence Officer


Steven L. Hall


Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Chief of Russian Operations, Central Intelligence Agency


Kent Harrington


Former National Intelligence Officer for East Asia, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Director of Public Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Chief of Station, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency


Don Hepburn


Former Senior National Security Executive


Timothy D. Kilbourn


Former Dean, Sherman Kent School of Intelligence Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency


Former PDB Briefer to President George W. Bush, Central Intelligence Agency


Ron Marks


Former Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Twice former staff of the Republican Majority Leader


Jonna Hiestand Mendez


Technical Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Emile Nakhleh


Former Director of the Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Senior Intelligence Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency


Gerald A. O’Shea


Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Served four tours as Chief of Station, Central Intelligence Agency


David Priess


Former Analyst and Manager, Central Intelligence Agency


Former PDB Briefer, Central Intelligence Agency


Pam Purcilly


Former Deputy Director of Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Director of the Office of Russian and European Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency


Former PDB Briefer to President George W. Bush, Central Intelligence Agency


Marc Polymeropoulos


Former Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Acting Chief of Operations for Europe and Eurasia, Central Intelligence Agency


Chris Savos


Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Officer


Nick Shapiro


Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Director, Central Intelligence Agency


John Sipher


Former Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Deputy Chief of Russian Operations, Central Intelligence Agency


Stephen Slick


Former Senior Director for Intelligence Programs, National Security Council


Former Senior Operations Office, Central Intelligence Agency


Cynthia Strand


Former Deputy Assistant Director for Global Issues, Central Intelligence Agency


Greg Tarbell


Former Deputy Executive Director, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Analyst of the Soviet Union and Russia, Central Intelligence Agency


David Terry


Former Chairman of the National Intelligence Collection Board


Former Chief of the PDB, Central Intelligence Agency


Former PDB Briefer to Vice President Dick Cheney, Central Intelligence Agency


Greg Treverton


Former Chair, National Intelligence Council


John Tullius


Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


David A. Vanell


Former Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Winston Wiley


Former Director of Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency


Former Chief, Counterterrorism Center, Central Intelligence Agency


Kristin Wood


Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency


Former PDB Briefer, Central Intelligence Agency


In addition, nine additional former IC officers who cannot be named publicly also support the arguments in this letter.



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