First on Fox: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham sent a letter to each of the 51 former intelligence officials who signed a memo that said Hunter Biden’s laptop contained Russian disinformation.
“In your letter, you claimed that the laptop story was ‘Russia trying to influence the American vote,'” read Graham’s letter to former CIA directors Leon Panetta and Michael Hayden, who That is the former Director of National Intelligence. [DNI] James Clapper and 48 others.
“I ask you to publicly answer a simple question: If you had known what you know now about the laptop, would you still have signed the letter of October 19, 2020? ”
Graham, a Republican, had previously suggested ending security clearances for officials who signed the letter.
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance promised during the campaign that the incoming Trump administration would decertify all 51 signatories.
Sen. Lindsey Graham sent a letter to each of the 51 former intelligence officials who signed a memo that said Hunter Biden’s laptop contained traces of Russian disinformation. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Over the summer, Fox News Digital asked all 51 officials if they regretted signing the now-defunct letter.
“No,” replied Obama-era DNI James Clapper.
Mark Zaid, a lawyer representing seven of the signatories, said it was “patriotic” for his clients to sign the letter.
“The October 2020 letter signed by fifty-one former intelligence officials regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop continues to be interpreted by many as calculated or extremely ignorant,” Zaid said.
Greg Traverton, a signatory who previously served as chairman of the National Intelligence Council, defended the letter in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Over the summer, Fox News Digital asked all 51 officials if they regretted signing a now-expired letter claiming Russian disinformation on Hunter Biden’s laptop. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
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“This is very old news,” Treverton said. “What we said was true, we were guessing from our experience, and it looked like a Russian operation. We didn’t say it, and certainly can’t say it was a Russian operation. Enough is enough. “
The now-infamous letter said his national security experience left him “deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this matter.”
“If we are correct,” he added, “it is Russia that is trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we strongly believe that Americans are aware of that. Need to stay.”
Despite claims by former officials that the laptop contained traces of Russian disinformation, Fox News Digital reported. That federal investigators at the Department of Justice knew in December 2019 that Hunter Biden’s laptop had “not been tampered with in any way” and contained “credible evidence” but that looking at all available information ” “stopped,” according to an IRS whistleblower’s investigation — announced nearly a year ago by former intelligence officials and President Joe Biden as part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
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The laptop was introduced as evidence in a Delaware courtroom last week by prosecutor Derek Hines and turned over to FBI agent Erika Jensen, who previously described how the FBI authenticated the laptop. and extracted data. At the gun trial, he testified about dozens of text messages, metadata, photos and short videos found on Hunter Biden’s phones and iCloud accounts.
