'Outnumbered' on Psaki dodging Hunter Biden laptop, investment questions
'Outnumbered' asks questions about Hunter Biden's laptop, and stake in Chinese company
A New York Times report on Wednesday further confirmed the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s "laptop from Hell," despite several Biden administration personnel amplifying claims that the computer was "Russian disinfo" during the weeks leading up to the 2020 election.
Ranging from President Biden’s press secretary to the "big guy" himself, the Biden administration did everything they could to discredit reports of the first son's laptop.
FEDERAL INVESTIGATION CONTINUES INTO HUNTER BIDEN EVEN AFTER HE PAID HIS TAX BILL
President Joe Biden speaks at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference, Monday, March 14, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
"Yes, yes, yes," Biden responded to a question about if he believed the laptop was Russian disinformation in a press conference following his electoral win. The president also pledged that his "Justice Department will be totally on its own making judgments about how they should proceed."
"Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say," White House press secretary Jen Psaki wrote in October 2020, which was retweeted by now-Domestic Policy Council director Susan Rice.
Psaki would go on to repeat this talking point in September 2021 in response to a question from Fox News' Peter Doocy about whether the Biden administration still stood by their claim that the Hunter Biden laptop was "Russian disinformation" after a Politico reporter verified several emails.
Both White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates and staff secretary Neera Tanden also pushed the claims of Russian disinformation, as well.
Megan Apper, a senior adviser at the State Department and former White House research director, also pushed the Politico article in 2020 when she was on the Biden campaign. The article included a list of several former U.S. intelligence officials claiming the laptop was fake, among them former Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper.
Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, who now serves as Biden's White House communications director, also pushed the narrative, claiming in 2020 that former President Trump would be "amplifying Russian disinformation" should he bring up the laptop during the presidential debate.
"If we see tonight from Donald Trump these attacks on Vice President Biden’s family, I think we need to be very, very clear that what he’s doing here is amplifying Russia disinformation," Bedingfield said in October 2020.
"We have The Washington Post reporting that Donald Trump himself has been briefed on Rudy Giuliani was a target of Russian intelligence.," Bedingfield continued. "You have Rudy Giuliani himself saying there’s a 50-50 chance he engaged with Russian intelligence on this story."
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki during a meeting in Washington on Feb. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
"You also had 50 nonpartisan intelligence and security officers sign a letter saying this all has a classic hallmark of Russian disinformation," she added. "So I just want to be crystal clear that if we hear that from Donald Trump tonight, that’s what he’ll be doing."
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks of Indiana blasted the former intelligence officers as having "maliciously lied" to cover for Biden, including Clapper and former CIA director John Brennan.
"James Clapper, John Brennan… Every single one of the ‘intel officials’ that signed this letter either maliciously lied to protect Joe Biden and interfere with our election or are disturbingly incompetent!" Banks wrote on Thursday.
The bombshell report comes amid the federal probe into the younger Biden’s business dealings, and calls into question the major messaging against the initial reports of the laptop during the president’s 2020 campaign.
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The laptop was reportedly ditched by the younger Biden at a Delaware repair shop in 2019 and contains numerous documents being pored over by the feds, with the story making national attention a year later in a bombshell New York Post report.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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