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Burner02 Offline
#1 Posted:
Joined: 12-21-2010
Posts: 12,861
New York Times finally confirms Hunter Biden's laptop after dismissing it amid 2020 campaign

New York Post slammed Times in editorial: 'You have got to be s–tting us'

By Brandon Gillespie | Fox News - A Wednesday report by The New York Times confirmed the authenticity of Hunter Biden's infamous laptop, which was left in a Delaware repair shop in 2019 by the first son before being turned over to the FBI by the repair shop owner.

The new Times report, which was flagged by The New York Post and focused on the investigation into Hunter Biden's taxes and his international business dealings, noted prosecutors had examined emails between Biden and some business associates that "appear[] to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop" and "were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation."

Previously, The Times dismissed the Biden laptop story as "Russian disinformation" at the height of the 2020 presidential campaign and claimed in a September 2021 piece that The Post's reporting on the laptop was "unsubstantiated." It later scrubbed the word from the article after intense backlash over its inaccurate characterization of The Post's reporting.

According to The Post, Hunter Biden's laptop contained emails, text messages, photos and financial documents between himself, his family and business associates that showed how he used his political influence in his foreign business dealings, specifically in his work as a board member of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company.

The Post's Twitter account was suspended after it tweeted its story on Biden's laptop in October 2020, which began a weeks-long standoff that culminated in the social media platform backing down and lifting the suspension.

The Post's editorial board slammed The Times Thursday.

"Forgive the profanity, but you have got to be s–tting us," The Post responded before taking The Times to task over its flip-flop:

"In the heat of the presidential race of 2020, the Times never missed a chance to cast doubt on the laptop, saying the information was 'purported' and quoting a letter from former Democratic officials who claimed — with no evidence — that it was Russian disinformation. As recently as September 2021, the Times called the laptop ‘unsubstantiated’ in a news story…

"Readers of the Times have discovered in March 2022 that Hunter Biden pursued business deals in Europe and Asia, and may have leveraged his father’s position as vice president to do it. Hunter also may not have properly registered with the government or declared all his income. All legitimate topics of discussion about a presidential candidate’s family, no?"

The Post added, "Readers of The Post have known this since October 2020."

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) later determined that Twitter did not violate any election laws when it suppressed The Post's reporting just weeks before the 2020 election.

Burner02 Offline
#2 Posted:
Joined: 12-21-2010
Posts: 12,861
FLASHBACK: MSNBC, CNN, CBS told viewers Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation

Liberal pundits were quick to label the laptop 'unverifiable,' 'disinformation,' and 'disgusting'

By Nikolas Lanum | Fox News - The New York Times last week confirmed the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s missing laptop, a story which was originally dismissed as Russian disinformation by many liberal media outlets leading up to the 2020 presidential election.

Television hosts, guests and journalists quickly took to the airwaves in October 2020, reassuring viewers that the laptop was "unverifiable," likely tied to the Kremlin, and the product of a smear campaign orchestrated by former President Trump and his allies.

"We start this hour with the tale of international espionage connected to a close confidante of the President of the United States," MSNBC's Ali Velshi said on Oct. 17, 2020. "The president was reportedly warned that his personal attorney, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was the target of a Russian intelligence operation, a story that is unraveling to reveal allegations of disinformation, dirty tricks and a federal probe over Russian efforts to disparage Joe Biden."

Days later on October 22, Biden campaign advisor Symone Sanders appeared on the liberal news network and bluntly stated that any attempts by then-President Trump to amplify the story would be viewed as "Russian misinformation." Sanders now is an MSNBC contributor herself.

"It is so obviously a Russian operation." MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson parroted less than a week earlier.

"U.S. authorities are seeing if those emails we just talked about are connected to an ongoing Russian disinformation effort," CNN’s Brian Stelter said that same month.

Moments later, The "Reliable Sources" host hypothesized that the contents of the laptop could be made up, arguing that the story was a "classic example" of the "right-wing media machine."

Stelter’s colleagues, Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper, were also critical of the laptop story. Tapper feigned disgust during an October CNN segment, announcing that right-wingers were going "crazy" with allegations about Hunter and Joe Biden "too disgusting to even repeat."

Other pundits labeled the laptop story false information.

In the month before the election, Trump appeared on CBS’ "60 minutes" where he addressed Hunter Biden's laptop, which he called "one of the biggest scandals" he’s ever seen. But, anchor Lesley Stahl was insistent that there was no way to conclude the laptop or its contents were real.

"Excuse me, they found the laptop. Lesley. Listen," Trump said, as Stahl repeatedly interjected that the laptop could not be verified.

"What can’t be verified?" Trump asked.

"The laptop!," Stahl exclaimed.

"Why do you say that?" the former president responded, before further arguing the laptop had to be legitimate.

The laptop was also widely disregarded in print news as well.

Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent declared the day after the New York Post first began reporting on the alleged contents of Hunter Biden's laptop that it was "Trump's fake new Biden scandal," calling the allegations "laughably weak."

The same day, The New York Times ran a report sounding the alarm about "Russian disinformation," claiming then-President Trump was warned that Russians were "using" his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who was given the laptop before providing its contents to the press, to spread false claims about the Bidens.

Politico also ran an October 2020 headlined, "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say," which highlighted a letter signed by "more than 50 former senior intelligence officials" who asserted that the emails from the laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."

The letter, which was parroted by much of the media, suggested, without evidence, that the emails were hacked and could have been tampered with by the Kremlin in order to make its contents look incriminating. Signatories of that letter included former high-ranking intelligence officials and outspoken Trump critics like former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Michael Hayden, Leon Panetta, and Jeremy Bash, many of whom work as analysts on MSNBC and CNN and supported Biden's candidacy.

Whistlebritches Offline
#3 Posted:
Joined: 04-23-2006
Posts: 22,127
They also rallied behind the Russian Collusion lie...........that should tell you what kind of people we're dealing with


If you vote democrat we can be friends,but know you are the problem..........not the solution
Burner02 Offline
#4 Posted:
Joined: 12-21-2010
Posts: 12,861
Hunter Biden scandal: CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC completely avoid NYT report verifying laptop emails from 2020

The report verified Hunter Biden's emails after multiple outlets suggested they were 'Russian disinformation'

By Joseph A. Wulfsohn | Fox News - It was once routine that damning reports about the president published by The New York Times would lead nearly every news program. That is no longer the case, at least under President Biden.

The Times ran a lengthy story Wednesday diving into the Justice Department's ongoing investigation of Biden's son Hunter and how a grand jury is still collecting witness testimony and records regarding his business dealings overseas. The Times also verified the explosive emails first published by the New York Post in October 2020, just weeks before the presidential election, that implicated then-candidate Biden despite public denials he had anything to do with his son's finances.

Since Wednesday evening, the Times' report has received zero attention on the five major networks.

ABC, CBS and NBC made no mention of Hunter Biden on their morning and evening newscasts on Thursday or Friday, according to Grabien transcripts. Neither CNN nor MSNBC dedicated time to the ongoing scandal despite being 24-hour news networks.

Additionally, CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter also ignored the Times' report in his media-centric "Reliable Sources" newsletter, but managed to squeeze in a mention about Meghan Markle's newest podcast.

In November, the five networks similarly avoided another Times report that alleged an investment firm that counts Hunter Biden among its founders helped a Chinese company purchase one of the world’s most lucrative cobalt mines from an American company while his father was vice president, renewing concerns about potential conflicts of interest and whether the now-current president had any knowledge about his son's business dealings, which he had previously denied.

The legacy media collectively disregarded the reporting from the New York Post that shed light on Hunter Biden's questionable financial ties, suggesting it was all a right-wing conspiracy or that it was the product of "Russian disinformation."

CNN's top executives, including then-president Jeff Zucker and political director David Chalian, were caught telling staff on a conference call they were spiking the Post's reporting on Hunter Biden, according to leaked audiotapes published by Project Veritas.

In the days leading up to the 2020 election, personalities on CNN, MSNBC, CBS and NBC all downplayed the Hunter Biden scandal while ABC News completely ignored the story, according to a study.

Brian Stelter, a staunch defender of the establishment media who has a reputation among critics as being a "hall monitor," was confronted by Washington Times correspondent Susan Ferrechio as the Hunter Biden scandal was unfolding in October 2020, a rare moment for anyone in the media to be pressed about the dismissal of the New York Post's reporting.

Ferrechio called out the double standard, going all-in on every Trump-Russia collusion report, mocking how the media "now" has "ethics" when it comes to reporting about the Biden family.

"How dare - don't you dare!" Stelter shouted at her. "Don't you dare act like newsrooms didn't have ethics in 2017 and 2018."

"Oh, I know they didn't. You can 'Don't you dare' me all you want, Brian. I've been doing this for 30 years," Ferrechio fired back. "Say whatever you want. It's my view and I have the right to say it."

The New York Times itself also went to great lengths to dismiss the Post's reporting. However, the so-called "paper of record" changed its tune this week.

"The investigation, which began as a tax inquiry under the Obama administration, widened in 2018 to include possible criminal violations of tax laws, as well as foreign lobbying and money laundering rules, according to the people familiar with the inquiry," the Times wrote on Wednesday. "But prosecutors face a number of hurdles to bringing criminal charges, the people familiar with the investigation said, including proving that Mr. Biden intentionally violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, which requires disclosure to the Justice Department of lobbying or public relations assistance on behalf of foreign clients."

Buried in the Times piece was a paragraph addressing a "cache" of emails the paper reviewed as part of its report.

"People familiar with the investigation said prosecutors had examined emails between Mr. Biden, Mr. Archer and others about Burisma and other foreign business activity. Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation," the Times wrote.

The laptop the Times referred to was the same laptop at the center of the New York Post's explosive reporting, which published several emails that came from a copy of Hunter Biden's hard drive just weeks before the 2020 election.

The editorial board of the New York Post had choice words for the Times' long-delayed corroboration of its reporting, writing, "Forgive the profanity, but you have got to be s---ting us."

"In the heat of the presidential race of 2020, the Times never missed a chance to cast doubt on the laptop, saying the information was 'purported' and quoting a letter from former Democratic officials who claimed — with no evidence — that it was Russian disinformation. As recently as September 2021, the Times called the laptop ‘unsubstantiated’ in a news story," the Post wrote Thursday. "Readers of the Times have discovered in March 2022 that Hunter Biden pursued business deals in Europe and Asia, and may have leveraged his father’s position as vice president to do it. Hunter also may not have properly registered with the government or declared all his income. All legitimate topics of discussion about a presidential candidate’s family, no?… Readers of The Post have known this since October 2020."

Burner02 Offline
#5 Posted:
Joined: 12-21-2010
Posts: 12,861
Bill Barr says Joe Biden lied to Americans about Hunter Biden laptop: ‘I was very disturbed’

Barr had previously refused to speak with Trump about Hunter Biden.

By Nikolas Lanum | Fox News - Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr appeared on "America Reports" Monday and said he was "shocked" to hear then-candidate Joe Biden lie about his son Hunter’s laptop during the 2020 presidential debate against then-President Donald Trump.

The New York Times recently confirmed the legitimacy of the laptop, breaking with the media’s earlier position that the laptop and its contents were "unverifiable" and the product of a "Russian disinformation campaign."

"America Reports" co-host John Roberts asked Barr where the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into the laptop could be headed, giving mention to a heated exchange between Barr and Trump referenced in the former attorney general’s book "One Damn Thing After Another."

Barr responded that he was "limited" in what he could discuss because of "possible ongoing investigations," but acknowledged that he was previously against injecting a criminal investigation against Biden’s son into the 2020 race without "definitive judgement" from the DOJ.

"Dammit, Mr. President, I am not going to talk to you about Hunter Biden. Period!," Barr allegedly told Trump in the months leading up to election day.

Barr maintained that he would have said the same thing today, asserting that he would not discuss criminal cases with Trump. Despite his disagreement with the former president, Barr noted that he was "very disturbed" that Biden "lied to the American people" about the laptop during the presidential debate in October 2020.

"He’s squarely confronted with the laptop, and he suggested that it was Russian disinformation and pointed to the letter written by some intelligence people that was baseless—which he knew was a lie. And I was shocked by that," Barr said.

Barr added that he believed the suppression of the laptop was an example of "election interference" but said he did not want to "venture an opinion" on whether President Biden could face any "legal liability" for his role in the laptop controversy.

Co-host Sandra Smith pressed Barr on whether the Hunter's laptop could become a "problem" for the White House.

"From a political standpoint now that this is in people’s consciousness, it had been suppressed up until now, obviously they have a hot potato and just to see how they handle it will be interesting," Barr responded.
MACS Offline
#6 Posted:
Joined: 02-26-2004
Posts: 79,584
Anyone shocked by this??

Anyone?

We all knew it. Even the leftist idiots who voted for Biden knew it. They just didn't care because it was their guy doing the lying and criminal activity.

As I said before, and we ALL know is true... if it was Don Jr's laptop, it would have been 24/7 non-stop news.
Mike3316 Offline
#7 Posted:
Joined: 02-05-2022
Posts: 329
If it was Don Jr's laptop they would have impeached President Trump over it.
JGKAMIN Offline
#8 Posted:
Joined: 05-08-2011
Posts: 1,387
Mike3316 wrote:
If it was Don Jr's laptop they would have impeached President Trump over it.

No doubt, hell they wanted an full blown inquiry into whether his 6 year-old grandson truly assembled a White House from legos, imagine what they’d have done with this.
Sunoverbeach Offline
#9 Posted:
Joined: 08-11-2017
Posts: 14,583
You’re a kid, your whole life is awesome. It’s awesome, right? You had no money, no ID, no cell phone, no nothing, no keys to the house. You just ran outside into the woods. You weren’t scared of nothing. I challenge you to do that as an adult. All your IDs, all your credit cards—just run out of the house with no phone, turn the corner where you can’t see your house, and not have a full-on panic attack.
- BB
Burner02 Offline
#10 Posted:
Joined: 12-21-2010
Posts: 12,861
Ron Klain: Joe Biden Is ‘Confident’ Hunter Didn’t Break The Law, Family ‘Did The Right Thing’ In Business Deals

By Tim Meads -Apr 3, 2022-DailyWire.com

On Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain claimed that President Joe Biden had not been in contact with the Department of Justice regarding an ongoing investigation into the president’s son, Hunter. He also added that Biden is confident that his family, including his brother Jim, have not crossed any ethical lines as it related to business deals with a Chinese energy company.

ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos asked Klain several pointed questions about Biden’s awareness and involvement in various business and potentially illicit legal matters relating to Hunter. In a wide-ranging interview Sunday morning, the host of “This Week” noted that the “DOJ is intensifying its investigation” into Hunter, before saying, “I assume the president’s had no contact with the Justice Department about that?”

“Neither the president or any of us at the White House have had contact with the Justice Department about that,” Klain responded. (sic)

“Is the president confident Hunter Biden didn’t break the law?” Stephanopoulos followed up.

“Of course, the president is confident that his son didn’t break the law, but most importantly — as I said — that’s a matter that’s going to be decided by the Justice Department, by the legal process. It’s something that nobody at the White House has involvement in,” Klain claimed.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that a “federal grand jury has heard testimony in recent months about Hunter Biden’s income and payments he received while serving on the board of a Ukraine energy company, according to two people familiar with the probe.”

The AP added that “…the grand jury activity underscores that a federal tax investigation into President Joe Biden’s son that began in 2018 remains active as prosecutors continue to examine foreign payments and other aspects of his finances.”

Hunter and Biden’s brother, James, have reportedly made millions from foreign business deals that many believe were only granted to the Bidens because of Joe Biden’s political connections as a senator, vice president, and presidential candidate.

In January, The Daily Wire reported that best-selling author Peter Schweizer claimed that Hunter and other members of the Biden clan have received at least $31 million from various Chinese elites as part of lucrative trade deals in multiple business ventures. Schweizer detailed this alleged money-making machine in an opinion column for the New York Post, excerpted from his latest book, “Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win.”

According to Schweizer, Biden’s brother James played a role in at least one of those business deals with Chinese elites:

Ye Jianming, a wealthy Chinese businessman and the head of CEFC China Energy, provided $6 million to the Biden family, according to a Senate investigation into Hunter’s activities.

In early 2017, one month after his father left office as vice president, Hunter Biden worked for Ye as a counselor and adviser, and Joe Biden’s brother James received some of the funds that Ye transferred to Hunter.

Five million came in the form of a forgivable, interest-free loan. Ethically, a loan is worse than a cash gift for a politician’s family, because the loan giver can always demand their money back if the recipient of the funds is not doing as they like.

That story was also reported on in Washington Post this past week after the paper verified the contents of Hunter’s infamous missing laptop. Like Schqeizer, The Post claimed that “a Chinese energy company paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter and the president’s brother.”

While noting the story from the Post, Stephanoplous asked Klain, “Is the president confident his family didn’t cross any ethical lines?”

“Ah, George, the president’s confident that his family did the right thing,” Klain answered. “But again, I want to just be really clear these are actions by Hunter and his brother. They’re private matters, they don’t involve the president, and they certainly are something that nobody at the White House has been involved in.”

The Daily Wire also reported last week that the White House claimed Thursday that Hunter did not make any money off business deals in China despite documented payments worth millions of dollars made to Biden-controlled entities.


Burner02 Offline
#11 Posted:
Joined: 12-21-2010
Posts: 12,861
‘Reckoning’: WaPo Admits Hunter Biden Story Teaching Media A Lesson

By Joseph Curl-Apr 4, 2022-DailyWire.com

Now that numerous news outlets have authenticated thousands of emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop — dismissed by many when it was first reported as Russian propaganda — an editorial by The Washington Post called for a “reckoning” over the media’s handling of the story.

In a piece by the editorial board headlined “The Hunter Biden story is an opportunity for a reckoning,” the writers cited news outlets — including their own paper — that initially dismissed the story.

“For now, what’s more compelling than the assorted accusations about the Bidens’ behavior is this question: Why is confirmation of a story that first surfaced in the fall of 2020 emerging only now? When the New York Post published its blockbuster exclusive on the contents of a laptop said to have been abandoned at a Delaware repair shop by Hunter Biden, mainstream media organizations balked at running with the same narrative. Social media sites displayed even greater caution,” the editorial board wrote.

Facebook, for one, banned posting links to the original New York Post story. Twitter went further, suspending the New York Post. Meanwhile, numerous outlets either ignored the story or called it Russian disinformation.

The Washington Post board said there was reason for caution, but added that “doesn’t necessarily exonerate every action of every publication and platform.”

“This series of events has prompted allegations of a coverup, or at best a double standard in the treatment of conservative and liberal politicians by mainstream media and social media sites,” it wrote.

The liberal paper also sought to explain its own dismissal of the story, admitting fault for shutting down what turned out to be a valid report. “None of these dilemmas have easy answers. The lesson learned from 2016 was evidently to err on the side of setting aside questionable material in the heat of a political campaign. The lesson learned from 2020 may well be that there’s also a danger of suppressing accurate and relevant stories,” the editorial board concluded.

Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald, who had ripped the paper for ignoring the story, lauded the Post for addressing the media’s shortcomings, while still saying it seemed self-serving.

“The Editorial is filled with self-justifying caveats about why it was reasonable to have gotten the story so wrong. It downplays the full extent of the joint CIA/media/Big Tech lie,” Greenwald wrote on Twitter. “But at least the Post now stands alone in admitting the fraud and that an accounting is due.”

“As welcome as it is, much of what’s in the Post’s Editorial is arrogant ad hoc rationalizing. They think a story is only confirmed once the NYT & WP say so – lol. The evidence of the archive’s authenticity was overwhelming from the start. Many of us staked our careers on it,” Greenwald wrote.

Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015.
Krazeehorse Offline
#12 Posted:
Joined: 04-09-2010
Posts: 1,958
No lessons learned. What they did was intentional, not accidental.
MACS Offline
#13 Posted:
Joined: 02-26-2004
Posts: 79,584
Krazeehorse wrote:
No lessons learned. What they did was intentional, not accidental.


Absolutely, 100% true. They knew exactly what they were doing and why they were doing it.

Had they given it the attention it deserved, Trump would have been re-elected... and they couldn't have that.

Anyone who doesn't see that is blind or willfully ignorant.
ZRX1200 Online
#14 Posted:
Joined: 07-08-2007
Posts: 60,473
Do you remember when people here said that Cheeto calling the press the “Enemy of the people” was dangerous?

I do.

SITUATIONAL OUTRAGE!
Stogie1020 Offline
#15 Posted:
Joined: 12-19-2019
Posts: 5,226
MACS wrote:
Absolutely, 100% true. They knew exactly what they were doing and why they were doing it.

Had they given it the attention it deserved, Trump would have been re-elected... and they couldn't have that.

Anyone who doesn't see that is blind or willfully ignorant.


You are 100% correct MACS, but the really puzzling piece of this for me is the business side of it. All the liberal media outlets have suffered serious viewership and advertising revenue without DJT in office. The reality is that they were making more profit with DJT in office than out.
Mike3316 Offline
#16 Posted:
Joined: 02-05-2022
Posts: 329
Stogie1020 wrote:
You are 100% correct MACS, but the really puzzling piece of this for me is the business side of it. All the liberal media outlets have suffered serious viewership and advertising revenue without DJT in office. The reality is that they were making more profit with DJT in office than out.

That's because their main focus is not to make money anymore. They exist to distribute propaganda for the DNC. Mission accomplished.
Burner02 Offline
#17 Posted:
Joined: 12-21-2010
Posts: 12,861
CNN, MSNBC dismissed Hunter Biden’s laptop as ‘Russian disinformation’ until liberal narrative was deflated

'CNN and MSNBC... need to come clean in a manner befitting their media malpractice,' William A. Jacobson said

By Brian Flood , Nikolas Lanum | Fox News - April 6, 2022

CNN and MSNBC each spent months downplaying the relevancy of Hunter Biden’s scandalous laptop, often chalking it up as "Russian disinformation," but the liberal networks haven’t spent much time on the infamous computer since its authenticity was confirmed.

Last week, the Washington Post published a bombshell report about Hunter Biden's multimillion-dollar deal with a Chinese energy company, which has been swept up in the DOJ's investigation of his tax affairs and overseas business dealings. As part of its reporting, the Post was able to authenticate the contents of Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop.

The Post’s confirmation came two years after liberal media outlets downplayed the bombshell report from the New York Post in the final weeks leading up to the 2020 election that put a spotlight on Hunter Biden's shady business dealings overseas based on damning emails that emerged from his laptop. At the time, the liberal talking point du jour was that the computer was the result of a "Russian disinformation" campaign designed to help keep then-President Trump in office.

The reporting from the Washington Post came days after the New York Times released its own report which also authenticated the laptop.

However, when then Post became the second liberal newspaper to confirm the laptop as authentic, CNN and MSNBC spent far more time covering Trump's recent remarks urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to look for "answers" regarding Hunter Biden's business dealings than the Hunter Biden scandal itself. The laptop received zero coverage on CNN and MSNBC primetime shows the first two nights after the Post debunked the narrative that the laptop was an elaborate Kremlin plot, according to Grabien transcripts.

Since the Post confirmed the laptop on March 30 through Tuesday afternoon, MSNBC has only mentioned it once, according to Grabien transcripts. The single mention came when a guest on far-left weekend host Tiffany Cross’s program sarcastically mentioned the laptop in passing during a report on Trump in an attempt to mock Republicans.

CNN mentioned it during only three different segments through the same time period, all during reports updating viewers on the Justice Department’s probe of the president’s son that didn’t specify the laptop isn’t Russia disinformation after all.

NewsBusters deputy managing editor Nicholas Fondacaro is baffled that CNN and MSNBC wouldn’t attempt to restore some credibility by admitting they botched the original story.

"With the media’s approval rating being as low as it is, you’d think coming clean and covering the facts of the Hunter scandal would be in their best interest in trying to boost that number and claw back some credibility. But it seems like they would prefer to obfuscate the story and hope it blows over, so they don’t have to admit they were using their own political desires to frame the story and mislead the public ahead of a critical election," Fondacaro told Fox News Digital.

"CNN has been generally tight-lipped about the new revelations, but MSNBC has allowed hosts and guests to snipe at the story here and there," he continued. "Instead of addressing the facts as confirmed by the Washington Post, the network is still allowing them to dismiss it as a ridiculous thing being talked about by elements on the right."

CNN and MSNBC weren’t the only culprits, as other outlets including NBC News and CBS News both featured pundits who also insisted the laptop was Russian disinformation.

While the laptop isn’t a high priority for CNN and MSNBC these days, it was a hot topic in the fall of 2020. CNN’s "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" was particularly egregious on Oct. 16, 2020 when Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., joined the liberal network to discuss the Post’s reporting.

Blitzer quickly declared, "Serious questions tonight about whether the Russians are using Rudy Giuliani to interfere in the U.S. presidential election … There are fears that what Giuliani is now pushing here in the United States could actually be part of Russia's latest and very massive disinformation campaign in the U.S. presidential election."

CNN senior national security correspondent Alex Marquardt responded that Russia’s disinformation campaign was "massive indeed" before reporting the FBI was investigating whether the laptop was part of the alleged scheme.

"We are being told by two people who've been briefed on what the FBI is doing that they're looking into whether these unverified e-mails about Hunter Biden that were published earlier this week by the New York Post about his business dealings in Ukraine and China are part of these bigger Russian disinformation efforts in the 2020 election," Marquardt said.

Schiff was on hand to defend Hunter Biden – who once admitted he smoked Parmesan cheese because he thought it was crack – to CNN’s audience, too.

"We know that this whole smear on Joe Biden comes from the Kremlin. That's been clear for well over a year now that they've been pushing this false narrative about the vice president and his son," Schiff told Blitzer. "Clearly, the origins of this whole smear are from the Kremlin."

Blitzer then knocked then-President Trump for "holding up a copy of the New York Post touting this conspiracy theory" inside the Oval Office, and Schiff was on the same page as the CNN anchor.

"Another wonderful propaganda coup from Vladimir Putin, seeing the President of the United States holding up a newspaper promoting Kremlin propaganda. It's really incredible," Schiff said.

Blitzer and Schiff went on to call the laptop story a "false narrative" put out by the Kremlin as they agreed with each other’s every word.

That same day, CNN national security analyst James Clapper joined "OutFront with Erin Burnett" to help dismiss the laptop.

"This is a classic, textbook, Soviet, Russian trade craft at work. Russians analyze the target, they understand that the president, and his enablers crave dirt on Vice President Biden, whether it is real, or contrived, it doesn't matter to them," Clapper said. "So, all of a sudden, two-and-a-half weeks before the election, this laptop appears, somehow, without – and emails on it without any metadata. It's all very curious."

Burnett then asked if details from particular emails could be accurate or if "stuff like that could have just been planted" on the laptop but is "completely fake."

"I think the emails could be contrived," Clapper said.

A week later, CNN’s Jake Tapper said claims against Hunter Biden were "so heinous I'm not even gonna say them" during analysis of the second presidential debate.

"U.S. authorities are seeing if those emails we just talked about are connected to an ongoing Russian disinformation effort," CNN’s Brian Stelter said that same month.

The "Reliable Sources" host also hypothesized that the contents of the laptop could be made up, arguing that the story was a "classic example" of the "right-wing media machine."

CNN aired countless other examples of its anchors and reporters attempting to discredit the laptop, such as a December 2020 moment when Jim Acosta claimed Trump was "obsessed with Joe Biden's son, Hunter" while dismissing any wrongdoing.

"It is just more fake news. Actually, I find it very sad to watch," Acosta said.

CNN declined comment when asked if anyone at the network still feels the laptop was Russia disinformation.

CNN has recently begun acknowledging that Hunter Biden could be in hot water as a federal probe into his business activities heats up. CNN was previously caught spiking the Hunter Biden laptop story in the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election, according to recordings released by Project Veritas in December 2020.

While CNN was arguably the most anti-Trump network during former boss Jeff Zucker’s era, it was hardly the only liberal organization to dismiss the laptop.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who is currently letting her show’s ratings suffer while she takes an extended, multi-week hiatus, even called it a "smear campaign" against Biden.

"We start this hour with the tale of international espionage connected to a close confidante of the President of the United States," MSNBC's Ali Velshi said on Oct. 17, 2020. "The president was reportedly warned that his personal attorney, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was the target of a Russian intelligence operation, a story that is unraveling to reveal allegations of disinformation, dirty tricks and a federal probe over Russian efforts to disparage Joe Biden."

MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" namesake Joe Scarborough declared the Post article was "false" when making an augment that Twitter didn’t need to censor "one of the stupidest October surprises" he’d ever seen.

"There is a New York Post article that is false," Scarborough bluntly said on Oct. 15, 2020. "It’s much better for Twitter to let people read The New York Post article and sit there and laugh at the hokie story of a computer repairman looking at a computer, going, ‘This sure does look suspicious to me. I’m going to call Rudy Giuliani.’"

MSNBC’s Joy Reid referred to criticism of Hunter Biden as "nefarious conspiracy theories" and Rick Wilson, a co-founder of the disgraced Lincoln Project, appeared on MSNBC to call Trump a hypocrite for putting a spotlight on Hunter Biden when his own children were "making money off the presidency."

Biden campaign advisor Symone Sanders appeared on MSNBC on Oct. 22, 2020 and bluntly stated that any attempts by then-President Trump to amplify the story would be viewed as "Russian misinformation." Sanders now is an MSNBC contributor herself.

"It is so obviously a Russian operation," MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson parroted less than a week earlier.

Cornell Law School professor and media critic William A. Jacobson feels the liberal cable news options should dedicate significant time to educating Americans on the truth.

"CNN and MSNBC, which pushed the false claim the laptop was Russian disinformation harder than anyone, need to come clean in a manner befitting their media malpractice. Perhaps an hour of prime time devoted to reporting the authenticity and content of the suppressed Hunter Biden laptop information would be in order," Jacobson told Fox News Digital.

MSNBC did not respond to a request for comment when asked if any staffers still feel the laptop was Russian disinformation.
rfenst Offline
#18 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,096
I voted for Biden.
Hunter is on his way to prison until his dad commutes or pardons him.
If Biden knowingly took foreign money and didn't pay taxes, he should go to jail too.
That is all there is to it, IMHO.

RayR Offline
#19 Posted:
Joined: 07-20-2020
Posts: 8,793
rfenst wrote:
I voted for Biden.


Shame on you
RayR Offline
#20 Posted:
Joined: 07-20-2020
Posts: 8,793
The dirty Biden Crime Family is in this crony collusion scheme deep.


Hunter Biden sought to cash in with oligarchs during first Russian war on Ukraine, records show

"This is a good if not life changing deal if the Uk[raine] doesn't collapse in the meantime," Hunter Biden was told in spring 2014 email after Russia had invaded Ukraine the first time.

Quote:
In the shadows of Russia's first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Hunter Biden and his business partners embarked on an aggressive campaign to score millions of dollars in "life changing" business with oligarchs in both countries who had an interest in his father's policymaking business, according to emails and court records obtained by Just the News.

President Joe Biden's son and his associates targeted Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina — who eventually was sanctioned by the U.S. a few years later in 2018 — for as much as $200 million after helping her get a bank account set up in America, the emails show.

Hunter Biden and his associates even arranged for Baturina and her husband, an ex-Moscow mayor, to meet with then-Vice President Joe Biden at an intimate dinner in Washington in 2015.

More...

https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/hunter-biden-sought-cash-oligarchs-during-first-russian
RayR Offline
#21 Posted:
Joined: 07-20-2020
Posts: 8,793


Biden wrote college recommendation letter for son of Hunter's Chinese business partner, emails reveal


Biden's recommendation letter for Chinese executive's son was sent directly to Brown's president, email says

By Brooke Singman , Peter Hasson | Fox News
Published April 6, 2022

Quote:
EXCLUSIVE: President Biden, in 2017, wrote a college recommendation letter for the son of a Chinese executive who did business with Hunter Biden, according to emails reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The president has repeatedly denied discussing Hunter's business ventures with his son.

Fox News Digital obtained emails between Hunter Biden and his business associates involved in his firm Rosemont Seneca’s joint venture with Chinese investment firms Bohai Capital and BHR.

More...

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-brown-university-hunter-chinese-business-partner-emails

rfenst Offline
#22 Posted:
Joined: 06-23-2007
Posts: 39,096
RayR wrote:
[size=6]Biden wrote college recommendation letter for son of Hunter's Chinese business partner, emails reveal

No big deal.
It happens all the time like that.
I could tell you stories, but...
RayR Offline
#23 Posted:
Joined: 07-20-2020
Posts: 8,793
rfenst wrote:
No big deal.
It happens all the time like that.
I could tell you stories, but...


I'm sure you could but..
What do ya think Lyin' Biden got paid for writing that recommendation letter for a guy he wouldn't even have known since he never discussed with Hunter anything about his business dealings...so he says?
Sounds pretty fishy. 🐡🐟 Eh?
tailgater Offline
#24 Posted:
Joined: 06-01-2000
Posts: 26,185
rfenst wrote:
I voted for Biden.
Hunter is on his way to prison until his dad commutes or pardons him.
If Biden knowingly took foreign money and didn't pay taxes, he should go to jail too.
That is all there is to it, IMHO.



Sure.
This doesn't put POTUS in a compromised position.
Nope.


Sunoverbeach Offline
#25 Posted:
Joined: 08-11-2017
Posts: 14,583
Don’t wake up a woman in love. Let her dream, so that she does not weep when she returns to her bitter reality.
- MT
MACS Offline
#26 Posted:
Joined: 02-26-2004
Posts: 79,584
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khBkk5i3-n0
CelticBomber Offline
#27 Posted:
Joined: 05-03-2012
Posts: 6,786
Hang them! Hang them all! Unless they are people who think like me. Those people should get due process.

There are so many sandy vagina's in this forum I feel like I should bring a beach chair and drink Mai Tai's while I read this stuff.

I wonder if I could get Drafter to go topless in a thong? We could prance around in the ocean of tears and splash each other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOl4oeHZnBk
DrMaddVibe Offline
#28 Posted:
Joined: 10-21-2000
Posts: 55,301
rfenst wrote:
No big deal.
It happens all the time like that.
I could tell you stories, but...



The "big guy" that likes to mutter and walk around aimlessly by himself stated he's never talked business with Hunter or James.

https://youtu.be/8jmjLXabC4E

Sure...all the time...you know if it was Trump like you wanted it to be on various threads you've posted you'd be up in arms.

We've had a bit over 1 year of Pedo Joe's crime extravaganza...he's compromised. As he screams racism...which he is one without doubt...your boy did conduct business with foreign nations as VP and look at him now. He's a POS. EVERYTHING you wanted Trump to be, this creepy demented corrupted fool has done.

Sunoverbeach Offline
#29 Posted:
Joined: 08-11-2017
Posts: 14,583
A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
- MT
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