Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jan 21, 2025

Ex-CIA chief spills on how he got spies to write false Hunter Biden laptop letter to ‘help Biden’

Ex-CIA chief spills on how he got spies to write false Hunter Biden laptop letter to ‘help Biden’

Joe Biden’s presidential campaign prompted former acting CIA Director Mike Morell to “help Biden” by organizing 50 colleagues to sign a letter in October 2020 falsely claiming that damning emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop published by The Post were Russian disinformation.
In private sworn testimony, Morell told the House Judiciary Committee that Antony Blinken, now secretary of state, was the senior campaign official who reached out to him “on or before” Oct. 17, 2020, three days after The Post published an email from the laptop suggesting Hunter had introduced his Ukrainian business partner to his father, then-Vice President Biden.

Morell, identified as a potential CIA director under Biden, said he organized the letter to “help Vice President Biden … because I wanted him to win the election.”

Until Blinken’s call, Morell told House investigators, he had no intention of writing any statement exonerating Biden.

But he agreed that the conversation with Blinken “triggered … that intent” in him. 

At 10:53 p.m. the night of the call, Blinken emailed Morell a USA Today article claiming that the FBI was examining whether Hunter’s laptop was part of a “disinformation campaign.” 

At the bottom of Blinken’s email was the signature block of Andrew Bates, then-director of rapid response for the Biden campaign. 

Morell said he ​​did “a little bit of my own research,” then reached out to retired CIA senior operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos for assistance in compiling the letter discrediting The Post’s reporting.

Over the next two days, Morell gathered signatures from 51 former intelligence officials, including himself and four other former CIA directors, including John Brennan and Leon Panetta.

Morell testified that he sent an email telling Nick Shapiro, former deputy chief of staff to Brennan, that the Biden campaign wanted the statement to go to a particular reporter at the Washington Post and that he should send the statement to the campaign as well.

Morell did not recall why he told Shapiro the campaign wanted the statement to go to this reporter first and admitted that he may have spoken to the campaign on another occasion. 

In the end, Shapiro took the letter to Politico, which published it on Oct. 19 under the headline: “Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former officials say.”

The letter alleged that the New York Post story “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

The letter was used by candidate Joe Biden during the Oct. 22 debate against President Donald Trump to deflect accusations about his involvement in his family’s international influence-peddling operation, which had garnered millions of dollars from China and Ukraine while he was vice president.

It was also used to try to discredit The Post’s reporting that had embarrassed candidate Biden by contradicting his claims during the campaign that he had never spoken to his son about his overseas business dealings. 

Morell testified that after the debate, he received a call from Steve Ricchetti, chairman of the Biden campaign, to thank him for writing the statement. 

“He was the head of the Biden campaign at the time … Steve thanked me for putting the statement out. And that was the extent of the conversation.”

The thank-you call with Ricchetti was organized by fellow signatory Jeremy Bash, “who I work with at Beacon [Beacon Global Strategies] and who is active politically,” Morell testified.

Bash, Panetta‘s former chief of staff-turned-MSNBC security analyst, was later appointed by President Biden to a prestigious role on his President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

Morell did not become CIA director.

In a letter to Blinken sent Thursday, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote: “We are examining the origins of the infamous public statement signed by 51 former intelligence officials that falsely discredited a New York Post story regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop as supposed Russian disinformation.” 

“Subsequent reporting revealed that the New York Post story was not, as the public statement claimed and then-Vice President Biden parroted, part of a ‘Russian information operation.’

“This revelation nearly two years after the fact, however, was little consolation.

“The concerted efforts to dismiss the serious allegations in the Post’s reporting and to suppress any discussion of the story played a substantial role in the 2020 election.”

Jordan and Turner told Blinken they were requesting his assistance because they “have learned that you played a role in the inception of this statement while serving as a Biden campaign advisor …

“It is apparent 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 Biden story and preventing American citizens from making a fully informed decision during the 2020 presidential election …

“This concerted effort to minimize and suppress public dissemination of the serious allegations about the Biden family was a grave disservice to all American citizens’ informed participation in our democracy.”

Jordan and Turner have asked Blinken to hand over all documents and communications relating to the letter and provide the House with the identities of everyone involved in its “inception, drafting, editing, signing, publishing, or promotion.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
Five Billionaires on Track to Break One Trillion Dollar Wealth Barrier
0:00
0:00
Open
Five Billionaires on Track to Break One Trillion Dollar Wealth Barrier
0:00
0:00
Close
Five Billionaires on Track to Break One Trillion Dollar Wealth Barrier
TikTok Restored in the U.S. Following Trump inauguration
Bill Ackman Praises Social Media Platform X as 'The New Media'
Argentina Achieves Record Trade Surplus in 2024 Under President Milei
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Proposes Rome as European Union Capital
France Urges EU to Act on Musk's Political Influence as Tensions Rise
Former Special Forces Blast Defense Ministry for Revealing Sensitive Details
Celebrity Responses to California Wildfires: Charity, Criticism, and Controversy
The Wildfires of Los Angeles: A Devastating Impact on Celebrities and California's Leadership
Tragic Loss: Teenager's Death Sparks Community Reflection in Bedford and London
UK Government Proposes Cap on Resale Ticket Prices to Combat Touts
Greenland's Future Caught in Diplomatic Crossfire Between Trump and Europe
EU Prepared to Lead Support for Ukraine Amid US Uncertainty, Says Estonian Prime Minister
Brompton E-Bike Component Diverted to UK Military Drone Production, Causes Delays
Romanian Gang Convicted of Human Trafficking and Exploitation in Dundee
Persistent Cold Snap Grips the UK: Severe Frost and Snow Disrupt Daily Life
Germany Faces Alarming Rise in Homelessness, New Report Shows
China’s Appetite for Salmon: A Game Changer in Global Seafood Markets
Russian Bots Allegedly Amplified NATO Critic Prior to Croatian Election, Researchers Reveal
Armenia Considers EU Membership Referendum Amid Strained Ties with Russia
French Finance Minister Explores Pension Reform Compromise to Secure Budget Agreement
Armenia Considers EU Referendum Amid Growing Rift with Russia
New Wildfire Ignites in Los Angeles as Region Battles Devastating Blazes
The Espionage Unraveled: A Russian Spy Network's Intricacies in the UK
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Bid to Delay Sentencing in Hush Money Case
UK Financial Markets Remain Calm Amid Rising Government Borrowing Costs
Stellantis Achieves UK Electric Vehicle Sales Mandate Amid Factory Closure
TikTok Faces Potential Ban in the United States Amid Security Concerns
Pound Plummets to 14-Month Low Amid Concerns Over UK Borrowing Costs
Tensions Rise Over Planned Pro-Palestinian March in London
Bomb Scare in Central London: Abandoned Car Sparks Panic Near Regent Street
Police Seek Suspect in Antisemitic Incident at Liverpool Street Station
Regulatory Reprimand for London Charity Over Fundraising for Israeli Soldier
The Duchess of Sussex Mourns Devastating Loss of Beloved Rescue Dog
From Chairman to Controversial Politician: Rupert Lowe's Journeys in Business and Politics
Metropolitan Police Halts Pro-Palestine March Near BBC Due to Proximity to Synagogue
Inside Warwick Hospital: A Glimpse into the NHS's Battle Against Winter Pressures
Chappell Roan: A Synth-Pop Sensation Emerges as BBC Sound Of 2025 Winner
Search Intensifies for Missing Aberdeen Sisters Eliza and Henrietta Huszti
Pioneering Drug Consumption Room Opens in Glasgow
Ryanair Initiates Legal Action Against Disruptive Passenger in Landmark Case
Former Brexit Negotiator Oliver Robbins Appointed Top Civil Servant at UK Foreign Office
British Hiker Found Deceased Amidst Dolomites Search: Investigation Underway
Pound Falls as UK Borrowing Costs Reach Financial Crisis Levels
Italian Journalist Cecilia Sala Released from Iranian Detention
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Faces Allegations of Childhood Sexual Abuse by Sister
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Denies Sister's Allegations of Sexual Abuse
UK Markets Under Pressure as Gilt Yields Surge
Arrest Made in Connection to Stabbing of Iranian Journalist in London
Arrest Made in Fatal Drive-By Shooting Outside London Church
×