Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is being declared a “fraud” after suddenly asserting the letter he signed prior to the 2020 presidential election which proclaimed the Hunter Biden laptop story was ‘Russian disinformation’ had been “distorted.”
By now, you all know the story.
In a letter signed by 51 intelligence officials published just weeks before the election, the authors argued that the laptop story had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
“If we are right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this,” they said of the New York Post’s bombshell story at the time.
“If we are right.” If you weren’t certain, why publish the letter? What ever happened to intel officials who deal with actual intel?
With Biden heading into the second half of his term in the White House, Clapper decided to finally state that he and the other intel officials had been taken out of context.
“There was message distortion,” Clapper told the Washington Post. “All we were doing was raising a yellow flag that this could be Russian disinformation. Politico deliberately distorted what we said.”
James Clapper hit Politico for distorting his infamous letter on the Hunter Biden laptop. https://t.co/ISs08nkck5 He insists that, shortly before an election, they were merely raising the possibility that it might be Russian disinformation in a letter signed by 50 high ranking… https://t.co/f2aklXfBdj
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 13, 2023
Clapper Claims Hunter Biden Laptop Letter Was ‘Distorted’
Is there any truth to what he is saying?
Politico, who published the letter, accompanied it with the glaringly headline: “Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say.”
They were clearly summarizing the intent behind the letter.
The narrative had been set by the contents, affirmed by the headline, and thus, a fake news story had been born. These intel officials had accomplished something Russia could only dream of in interfering in the election.
Back to Clapper: If you had a major news outlet take comments you made out of context or “deliberately distorted,” what would be the next move?
You’d call them and demand a correction the following day, right? Certainly within a few days. Maybe you need a week or so to really let it sink in.
James Clapper waited 847 days to say his comments were distorted.
1. Clapper & co. should start with “sorry, we were wrong.”
2. @NatashaBertrand did overstate the letter’s claim that the laptop was Russian disinfo. BUT
3. That’s what they wanted! They politicized their NatSec credentials to sway an election with lies.https://t.co/lfTIejbTWz
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) February 13, 2023
In fact, the New York Post editorial board gave each individual who signed the letter claiming Hunter Biden’s laptop had the “earmarks” – all of them – of a Russian disinformation campaign an opportunity to apologize in March of 2022. Clapper declined.
The Post described his comments as doubling down.
“Yes, I stand by the statement made AT THE TIME, and would call attention to its 5th paragraph,” Clapper said. “I think sounding such a cautionary note AT THE TIME was appropriate.”
But he didn’t say the letter was distorted even then.
‘Intelligence’ experts refuse to apologize for smearing Hunter Biden story https://t.co/owlkCEqh2c
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) March 19, 2022
Slammed as a Fraud
Making Clapper’s claim on the Hunter Biden letter even more appalling is the fact that another top intelligence official who signed the infamous letter recently admitted they all knew the contents of the laptop “had to be real” but they chose to sign on anyway.
Douglas Wise made the remarks during an interview with The Australian.
“All of us figured that a significant portion of that content had to be real to make any Russian disinformation credible,” the former senior CIA operations officer acknowledged, adding a similar addendum that the letter was simply a “cautionary tale.”
Ex CIA/DIA operative, ponytailed Doug Wise, one of 51 signatories of the lying letter claiming Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinfo now admits they “all” knew the files “had to be real” but has no regrets. @nypost follow of @Adam_Creighton https://t.co/TjEHf9TAyZ
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) January 17, 2023
See what is happening here? They’re trying to shift blame onto Politico for creating the narrative or even onto readers who may have drawn the obviously intended conclusion.
Coincidentally, this new Clapper denial now overlaps with House Republicans investigating the matter.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowed to subpoena the intelligence officials behind the letter, promising to hold them accountable for casting doubt on a legitimate story and effectively getting it censored.
Kevin McCarthy Vows to Subpoena 51 Intel Agents Who Lied About Hunter’s Laptop
“Those 51 Intel agents that signed a letter that said the Hunter Biden information was all wrong was Russia collusion — many of them have a security clearance,” stated McCarthy. pic.twitter.com/zDL1l9P2X3
— Ethan Harsell (@ethan_harsell) December 12, 2022
Miranda Devine, a New York Post reporter and author of the book Laptop From Hell, who has reason to be upset with Clapper and the Hunter Biden letter, accused him of being a fraud.
His comments, Devine told Fox News, “show what a fraud he is, and that he’s worried now the GOP controls the House and has vowed to haul in the signatories and make them testify under oath.”
“He’s trying to pre-shape the narrative.”
“They were silent,” she added. “That was the message they wished to convey, and now they are scrambling because the GOP House is about to hold them accountable.”
Politico also spoke to the Washington Post and said, contrary to Clapper’s claim, that they “fairly and accurately reported on — and summarized — the intelligence officials’ letter.”
You have to applaud his effort to rewrite history over two years after the fact.
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