James Clapper, Obama’s former director of national intelligence, was one of 51 intelligence agents who signed a letter in 2020 erroneously stating that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation. But now, over two years later, Clapper, who was directly linked to the Russiagate scandal, claims that he never called the laptop Russian disinformation and blames Politico for distorting the contents of the letter by presenting it as definitive, not merely a suggestion.
“There was message distortion,” Clapper told Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post on Monday. “All we were doing was raising a yellow flag that this could be Russian disinformation. Politico deliberately distorted what we said. It was clear in paragraph five.”
But Clapper’s efforts to pretend that the letter merely speculated the laptop was Russian disinformation is a lame attempt at rewriting history. The letter was designed to cast doubt on the laptop, which has since been independently authenticated by various media outlets, knowing very well that the media would use it as cover to refuse to report on the laptop and its contents or openly dismiss it as false.
Joe Biden, who obviously knew the laptop was genuine, also cited the letter as proof the laptop wasn’t legitimate. “Look, there are 50 former National Intelligence folks who said that what this, he’s accusing me of is a Russian plan,” Biden said during his last debate with Donald Trump. “They have said that this has all the characteristics — four — five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage. Nobody believes it except him, his, and his good friend Rudy Giuliani.”
Social media platforms like Twitter also restricted the sharing of news articles covering the laptop over this bogus pretense. Clapper and the other signatories certainly knew how their letter would be used to discredit the laptop. His alleged outrage at the letter being distorted also rings false because he never disputed the way it was being portrayed by the media at the time. It wasn’t until recently, well after the election and well after the laptop has already been authenticated by the media.
So, why is Clapper blasting Politico for distorting the letter now? Could it have something to do with Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) promise to subpoena all of the intel officials who signed the letter?
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