In October 2020, a controversy emerged involving data from a laptop that belonged to

Hunter Biden Robert Hunter Biden (born February 4, 1970) is an American attorney who is the second son of President of the United States, U.S. President Joe Biden and his first wife Neilia Hunter Biden. He is also a hedge fund, venture capital, and privat ...

that was abandoned at a computer shop in 2019. On October 19, 2020, a group of 51 former senior intelligence officials, who had served in four different administrations, including the Trump administration, released an open letter stating that the release of the alleged emails "has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation". During an interview with

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

on October 19, 2020, Trump's National Intelligence Director

John Ratcliffe John Ratcliffe or John Ratcliff may refer to: Politicians *John Ratcliffe (American politician), former Director of National Intelligence, former congressman in Texas' 4th Congressional District, and former U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of ...

said the emails were "not part of some Russian disinformation campaign" and accused

Adam Schiff Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who has served as a U.S. representative since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented since 2013. Schiff's district (numbered as the 2 ...

of mischaracterizing the views of the intelligence community by describing the alleged emails as part of a

smear campaign A smear campaign, also referred to as a smear tactic or simply a smear, is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It makes use of discrediting tactics. It can be applied to individual ...

against Joe Biden. Schiff's spokesman accused Ratcliffe of "purposefully misrepresenting" Schiff's words.

Signatories

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

References

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External links

The original story published in the ''Politico''
Controversies of the 2020 United States presidential election October 2020 events in the United States Mass media-related controversies in the United States Political controversies in the United States Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails Allegations Laptops Central Intelligence Agency controversies