A group of former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter claiming the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation remain unrepentant despite the evidence contradicting their claims. In interviews with the House Judiciary Committee, several of the 51 officials, including James Clapper, John Brennan, and Michael Morell, expressed no regrets over their actions.
Clapper, former National Intelligence Director, stated, “I don’t have regrets about signing the statement, given what was known at the time.” Brennan, former CIA Director, claimed he only regretted that the letter “gave fuel to those who want to create this furor over it.”
When asked if he regretted the letter, given the information available today, Clapper replied, “No.” Morell, former Acting CIA Director, stated that the letter aimed to share concerns about Russian interference and help then-candidate Joe Biden.
The letter, signed by numerous former officials, contradicted statements by the incumbent director of national intelligence at the time, and the laptop was later entered into evidence in Hunter Biden’s conviction. House Republicans released the transcripts of the interviews, which also included footage of Biden using the letter to deflect accusations of corruption during the 2020 presidential debate.
The documents revealed that several signatories, including Morell and David Buckley, were being paid by the CIA at the time the letter was published. Morell denied the accusations, but a House source provided evidence of his agency involvement.
The House Judiciary Committee stated, “The evidence in our report speaks for itself, and it seems that the spy who lied is continuing to do so.” Former CIA official Jeremy Bash, who was previously married to CNN’s Thursday-night debate moderator, Dana Bash, was also named as an “independent contractor” at the time of the letter.
Investigative reporter Paul Sperry chronicled Clapper’s efforts to weaponize the deep state against Republicans, issuing an intelligence advisory in 2016 that seemed to lend credence to the Clinton camp’s claims about Trump working with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In hindsight, Clapper’s pseudo-intelligence in 2016 and 2020 helped Clinton and Biden make the case against Trump as a potentially Kremlin-compromised figure, charges that crippled his presidency and arguably denied him reelection.
