[tomder55]

In the days before the 2020 election the NY Post first reported about the Hunter Biden laptop. Then a bunch of former Intel chiefs from a number of agencies signed a letter that the laptop was Russian disinformation. The signers admitted in the letter that they had no proof that Hunter's laptop was a Russian plot but still claimed the Post story had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
Former IC Officers Public Statement (politico.com)



Quid Pro Joe used the letter in a debate with Trump on October 22 ,2020 ;days before the election , as a talking point . The compliant press ; the Dem controlled social media outlets went into overdrive suppressing information about the laptop and the Biden Crime family

This played a key role in the 2020 election. Many have told pollsters they would've voted differently had they known the truth ,

A truth that has recently been revealed is that the letter by those Intel chiefs was in fact orchestrated by the Quid Pro Joe campaign. They contacted acting CIA chief Mike Morell to organize the group to create the letter .

Morell recently admitted this in private testimony to the House Judiciary Committee. He says he was contacted by now Sec State Anthony Blinken .He told the committee that he organized the letter because he wanted Quid to win.He was also in consideration to become CIA boss in Quid's administration.

Morell testified that after the debate, he received a call from Steve Ricchetti, chair of the Quid campaign, to thank him for writing the statement.

The Judiciary Committee this week penned a letter to Sec State Blinken .

Based on Morell’s testimony, it is apparent that the Biden campaign played an active role in the origins of the public statement, which had the effect of helping to suppress the Hunter Biden story and preventing American citizens from making a fully informed decision during the 2020 presidential election.20 Although the statement’s signatories have an unquestioned right to free speech and free association—which we do not dispute—their reference to their national security credentials lent weight to the story and suggested access to specialized information unavailable to other Americans. This concerted effort to minimize and suppress public dissemination of the serious allegations about the Biden family was a grave disservice to all American citizens’ informed participation in our democracy.

2023-04-20-jdj-mt-to-blinken-re-public-statement-on-hunter-biden-emails_0.pdf (house.gov)

The fact that these intel officials and the Quid campaign were involved in domestic disinformation and election interference is something that not only needs this Congressional investigation. It also need a Justice Dept investigation.

[Curlyben]

TBH, I very much doubt the public at large gave a hoot about this laptop story, and it certainly wouldn't contribute to Trump loosing the election or even winning it.
While a change was needed in the delivery of American policy, Red neck values, as espoused by Trump and his followers, really wouldn't last all that long.
History shows that isolationist policies over a protracted period, cause more harm than good to a country, especially one that claims to lead the free world.

[jlisenbe]

The laptop story would have been something of a difference maker in an election decided by relatively small margins. That the press colluded with the Biden campaign to actively suppress the story seems obvious. So the question is this. Do the American people mind being manipulated and lied to on such a grand scale?

[tomder55]

Other revelations coming to light now that the Repubs control Congress :

1. An IRS whistleblower said that the Feds are giving favored treatment to Hunter Biden
IRS whistleblower on Hunter Biden taxes comes forward | Fortune

2. AG Garland knew about it and lied to Congress about it .

Merrick Garland at center of Hunter Biden whistleblower claim (nypost.com)

[Curlyben]

Do the American people mind being manipulated and lied to on such a grand scale?

Sounds like status quo to me....

[tomder55]

If you believe the polls up to 17 % of Biden voters would've switched had they known. I don't know if that would've swung the election because of our electoral college system. But that seems to me to be a significant number of voters.

Do American mind being lied to ? Evidently so Most of the stuff we are told by the compliant press and the Censorship Industrial Complex is lies .

[jlisenbe]

I think the average American (and the Brits as well, in all likelihood) has somewhat despaired of being able to know what's really going on. Our news is so heavily filtered through an ideological point of view that it is frequently unreliable.

[tomder55]

The excuse that the 2020 election would not have been affected had CIA, Dems and corporate media not lied about the Hunter Biden laptop is laughable
Nobody can prove a counter -factual.... but the probable proof is in how desperate the deep state was to disprove it ,

[tomder55]

Here is yesterday's WSJ op-ed about the letter from the 51 spooks .

Why is public trust in American institutions, including the press, in free fall? One reason is the revelation last week that the Biden for President campaign helped to organize the open letter that spread disinformation about Hunter Biden’s famous laptop computer on Oct. 19, 2020.
The House Judiciary and Intelligence committees released portions of a deposition transcript exposing the origins of the statement from 51 former U.S. spies declaring that Hunter’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” The admission came from Mike Morell, former deputy CIA director under Barack Obama. The letter served its political purpose of giving the media and Joe Biden the opening to dismiss the New York Post’s laptop scoop as Russian disinformation. (The letter and the names of the 51 signers can be read nearby.)

It turns out the Biden campaign was behind the letter. Mr. Morell told Congress under oath that he received a phone call from Antony Blinken on Oct. 17, 2020—three days after the Post published emails from Hunter’s laptop. Mr. Blinken was then a senior adviser to the campaign and is now secretary of State.
According to a letter the House committees sent to Mr. Blinken last week, Mr. Morell said the call was “couched as simply gathering Morell’s reaction to the Post story,” yet it “set in motion the events that led to the issuance of the public statement.”


Committee question to Mr. Morell: “Prior to [Mr. Blinken’s] call, you—you did not have any intent to write this statement?”
Mr. Morell: “I did not.”
The letter says Mr. Morell also “explained that the Biden campaign helped to strategize about the public release of the statement.” Mr. Morell says he then contacted an aide to former CIA director John Brennan to say “the Biden campaign wanted the statement to go to a particular reporter at the Washington Post first and that he should send the statement to the campaign when he sent the letter to the reporter.”

Mr. Morell acknowledged he had two goals with the statement: to “share our concern with the American people,” and to “help Vice President Biden” “win the election.”
All of this took place shortly before the final presidential debate, and Mr. Biden pointed to the Gang of 51’s statement that his campaign helped to generate as proof that the Hunter laptop was phony: “Look, there are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what this, [President Trump is] accusing me of is a Russian plan. 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!”
Mr. Morell told the committee that following the debate, Biden campaign chair (and now senior White House aide) Steve Ricchetti called to thank him for the statement. No doubt. The Biden campaign had in essence generated its own disinformation, marshaling the authority of supposedly nonpartisan intelligence veterans to discredit a story that was accurate about laptop emails that were authentic.
The committees are seeking more information from Mr. Blinken about the Biden campaign’s role, and the public deserves answers. Statement signers like former Obama director of national intelligence James Clapper have since admitted they had no evidence to make their disinformation claims, and Mr. Clapper claims the media “distorted” their views. No, the press did precisely what Mr. Blinken and the 51 spooks wanted: Use their letter to discredit the Hunter laptop and the information on it that raised questions about the Biden family business with foreigners.
Intelligence officials, former as well as current, have a particular duty not to spread disinformation because they have access to classified information that the public can’t check. The press overwhelmingly went along with the false Biden campaign claims because it wanted Mr. Biden to win. These 51 officials have done more to damage the credibility of the CIA and FBI than anything Donald Trump has said. Ditto for the complicit media.

Joe Biden and the 51 Spies of 2020 - WSJ


All 51 spooks should be stripped of their access to classified information . Sec State Blinken should resign ;be fired ;or impeached .
He has repeatedly overseen bad policy ;deflected blame ,and has repeatedly lied to the American people .

[jlisenbe]

CNN fires Don Lemon while Tucker Carlson and FoxNews decide to part ways. Can't help but wonder if there is a connection to what you have posted above.

[tomder55]

Maybe but With Carlson it is more likely fall out from the Dominion decision .

All the commentary hosts at Fox spewed the pro-Trump line while secretly admitting to each other they were lying .

Don Lemon ? I can't comment because all I have ever seen was video excerpts .Based on that my opinion is that he is a no talent hack

[jlisenbe]

Lemon interviewed Vivek R recently and came across as a rude, race-sensitive smart you know what. I wonder if that was the last straw.

VR is really a breath of fresh air. He scarcely ever gets stuck in his thought process. He's growing on me.

[tomder55]

Outstanding stupidity by Don Lemon I had not read about the exchange. So not only is he a misogynist (Nikki Haley is over her prime....as well as feuds with other female co-hosts )) he is also a racist by saying Ramaswamy had not right to speak of the Black experience. (Ramaswamy couldn't speak about post-Civil War history because he wasn't Black. )

CNN should've realized a long time ago he was a mental midget .

CNN's Don Lemon: Is Black Hole Theory For Missing Jet 'Preposterous?' - YouTube

[tomder55]

Carlson is being sued by ex producer Abby Grossberg for having a hostile work environment . He is accused of being a sexist who subjugates women . Murdock was looking for an excuse to oust him . The Dominion settlement and the lawsuit gave Murdock the cause. Fox is reportedly trying to fire Carlson without giving him severances.

[tomder55]

Carlson 1st public comments since getting canned . He takes the high road and at the same time speaks some truth about the corporate sensorship regime.

No debate about war ;civil liberties ;emerging science ;demographic change ;corporate power and natural resources is allowed .

Tucker Carlson on Twitter: "Good evening https://t.co/SPrsYKWKCE" / Twitter

Here is my take . The total Capitol riot video archive was given to Carlson to review and release. He started to air them and then suddenly stopped ;presumably by orders by the Murdoch regime at Fox. Now that he is a free agent I hope he finishes the job .

[jlisenbe]

I am hoping for the same thing. This could end up being a great thing for Carlson and an even greater event for the country.

[tomder55]

This could be the real scoop at Fox. Carlson was beloved by his audience. But the wokesters got to the advertisers and made his brand toxic ....sorta like Mike Lindell .

Rupert Murdoch is going to hand off his empire to his son James Murdoch. But James doesn't want to own Fox . He wants to sell it . He is preparing the field for the eventual sell by settling all the lawsuits (Dominion ;Smartmatic ) . Besides Carlson they dumped Dan Bongino and Lara Trump;and there could be more personalities that they consider liabilities for the eventual sale . If not that then Murdoch sent a clear message to his other Fox employees that none of them are too big to can,

[tomder55]

The above brief video by Carlson was viewed 22 million times in the 48 hours after it was posted . That night on Fox Brian Kilmeade hosted Carlson's former prime time slot . There were 1.3 viewers ....about a third of Carlson's typical night on Fox.

[tomder55]

Fox sticks with it's public statements that Carlson and the network have agreed to part ways . What they don't say is that they are being hardline about his contract. His contract runs until the end of 2024 . Fox does not want him competing with them during the election.
Carlson is trying to negotiate an exit . But any agreement they reach ,Fox will try to have a non-disparagement clause.

It will be interesting to see if they get away with it .The National Labor Relations Board ruled earlier this year that employers may not offer employees severance agreements that require employees to broadly waive their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The decision involved severance agreements offered to furloughed employees that prohibited them from making statements that could disparage the employer and from disclosing the terms of the agreement itself.

Board Rules that Employers May Not Offer Severance Agreements Requiring Employees to Broadly Waive Labor Law Rights | National Labor Relations Board (nlrb.gov)

But Fox could legally keep Carlson under contract.

Fox was not expecting the blow back from it's decisions to dump Carlson and Bongino (his show was their highest rated weekend show.).

Murdoch thought canning them would have a minimal impact while he kept the rest of the hosts towing the line until the 'Succession' to his sons control was complete .
(Succession is a hit tv drama about a media mogul ;and his family's maneuvers to position themselves to succeed the patriarch .)

[tomder55]

Former CIA assets are required to submit things they intend to make public to the CIA’s Prepublication Classification Review Board(PCRB), to ensure they aren’t releasing classified info. The board is made up of CIA officials and is intentionally designed to be meticulous and slow . Its website warns request submitters that it could take weeks and months to approve.

The PCRB review timeline is dependent on the type of and the content within the submitted work. The Board makes every effort to accommodate tight deadlines for items such as academic papers, op-eds, and the like, but a review may require several weeks to months, even for what may appear to be routine requests, such as resumés and cover letters. Your employment history, the volume of requests, and the length and complexity of your request will impact the review timeline, as will reviews requiring external coordination. Review time for manuscripts, may vary—from days to months—depending on the length, content, and scope of the submission.

So how is it that Morrell submitted the letter 4 review on the morning of October 19,2020 ;and it was approved on the same day, in time for it's release prior to the October 22 debate ?

Miranda Devine at NY Post explains.

Morell told the CIA’s Prepublication Classification Review Board (PCRB) that he needed the letter approved as an unusual “rush job” that day, October 19, 2020, in an effort to provide then-candidate Joe Biden ammunition in the final presidential debate to discredit The Post’s report on the Biden emails which had been published five days earlier.
That day, a CIA employee working for the PCRB solicited a signature for Morell’s letter from former CIA analyst David Cariens, according to a written statement by Cariens to the Subcommittees on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, and Intelligence.
Cariens explained that he had been speaking with the PCRB about the prepublication review of his own memoir and during that phone call the CIA employee “asked” him if he would sign the draft letter.
“When the person in charge of reviewing my book called to say it was approved with no changes, I was told about the draft letter. The person asked me if I would be willing to sign . . . I agreed to sign.”

CIA fast-tracked letter that falsely suggested Hunter Biden laptop was Russia op (nypost.com)

We've been told that it was FORMER Intel officials involved with the letter. Turns out that there was an active CIA effort to assist Quid in his campaign against the then current President .

Is it fair to ask if Cariens ' book was approved contingent on his cooperation ? He agreed to sign the letter immediately. He "forgets" which CIA official asked him according to his testimony.

What was the "official " Intel position on the lap top ? That very day DNI Director John Ratcliffe said that there was NO evidence of Russian involvement in the laptop story after he learned of Adam Schiffhead's claim of Russian involvement .

“Hunter Biden’s laptop is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign,” Ratcliffe said.

“It’s funny that some of the people who complain the most about intelligence being politicized are the ones politicizing the intelligence,” Ratcliffe said. “Unfortunately, it is Adam Schiff who said the intelligence community believes the Hunter Biden laptop and emails on it are part of a Russian disinformation campaign.”

John Ratcliffe: Info on Hunter Biden laptop not Russian disinformation (nypost.com)

All the intel for the US gets filtered through the office of the DNI .

The CIA is stonewalling the Congressional Committee . As is the FBI on the related issue of the whistleblower's allegations about the Biden Crime Family.

FBI declines to provide House chairman with document he claims will implicate Biden in 'criminal scheme' (nbcnews.com)