A report released by the House Judiciary Committee reveals that CIA contractors colluded with the Biden campaign to declare that the Hunter Biden campaign was part of a “Russian information operation.”
The claim of Russian involvement was announced in a 2020 letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials.
According to the GOP report, “High ranking CIA officials, up to and including then-CIA Director Gina Haspel, were made aware of the Hunter Biden statement prior to its approval and publication.” The committee explains that “[b]ecause several former senior intelligence officials signed the statement, the PCRB sent the draft statement to the CIA’s then-Chief Operating Officer (COO) Andrew Makridis, who said he subsequently informed then-Director Haspel or then-Deputy Director Vaughn Frederick Bishop that the statement would be published soon. Senior CIA leadership had an opportunity at that time to slow down the CIA’s process for reviewing publication submissions and ensure that such an extraordinary statement was properly vetted.”
Some of the letter’s signatories were actively involved in the CIA at the time of its publication. While the signatories claimed they did not have access to classified information as they claimed Hunter Biden’s laptop had “all the hallmarks” of Russian disinformation, two individuals, Michael Morell and former CIA Inspector General David Buckley, were “on the CIA’s payroll as contractors,” the report said.
The report added that some CIA employees admitted the letter alleging the laptop was “Russian disinformation” was not “helpful to the Agency in the long run.”
Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said in a statement, “We knew that the rushed statement from the 51 former intelligence officials was a political maneuver between the Biden campaign and the intelligence community.”
He noted that the report reveals “how officials at the highest levels of the CIA were aware of the statement and CIA employees knew that several of the so-called former officials were on active contract with the CIA. The report underscores the risks posed by a weaponized federal government.”
The report follows Republicans demanding an investigation into the intelligence officials behind the 2020 letter.
Republican Ted Cruz (TX) wrote on X earlier this month that “every single one of the 51 former intelligence officials who signed the letter saying that the laptop was Russian disinformation should be held accountable.”
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) told The Daily Mail that she believes the 51 intelligence officials should have their clearances revoked, adding, “I think there needs to be an investigation into every single one of them.”
“We know that the intel community never operates in absolutes and the fact that we had 51 come forward and try to put forward a narrative that this was disinformation, misinformation when everyone knew full well that it wasn’t, that it was very real,” she explained.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) similarly said that “none of these people have been held accountable.”
“So if any of them are still working in government, they should all lose their jobs and then be sued if there’s some type of cause that you can go after them for.”
