Catherine Herridge on X:
“FBI ‘Gag Order’ On Hunter Biden Laptop

Connecting the Dot + the Conspiracy of Silence 

TOP LINE: 

Merriam-Webster Definition:

Conspiracy of Silence: a secret agreement to keep silent about an occurrence, situation, or subject especially in order to promote or protect selfish interests

DEEP DIVE

This week, in a joint investigation, Michael @shellenberger and I broke the story of the FBI’s internal chat messages.  On October 14, 2020, the FBI imposed a gag order on the Hunter Biden laptop story after an FBI employee accidentally told Twitter that the laptop was real.

The heavily redacted FBI chat messages show an unidentified individual telling Elvis M. Chan, the San Francisco-based FBI special agent tasked with interacting with social media companies, there was a “gag order” on any discussion of the laptop. 

Asked Chan, “actually what kind of case is the laptop thing? corruption? campaign financing?”

Another FBI employee responds, “CLOSE HOLD —” meaning not to be widely shared, after which the response was redacted. 

To which Chan responds, “oh crap” appearing to underscore the serious nature of the probe, which included felony tax charges. Chan adds, “ok. It ends here”.

The FBI internal chat messages were exchanged on the same day the New York Post was first to report on the laptop contents.  The emails and texts showed Hunter Biden’s business deals included multiple Biden family members including his father, then presidential candidate Joe Biden.

At the time, the FBI’s mandate was to stop foreign election interference. In my view, it would not have been a foul for the FBI to confirm the laptop was real and the subject of a federal probe that began in 2019. 

While there is a longstanding unwritten policy against overt law enforcement activities close to an election, Hunter Biden was not running for office.  The FBI gag order suggests the FBI and Justice Department knew the laptop contents were credible and could implicate then-candidate Joe Biden.

Further, the FBI internal chat messages show that the bureau and the Justice Department allowed the false narrative that the laptop was a Russian plant to gain momentum with Big Tech, including FaceBook and Twitter, censoring factual reporting. 

Context matters:  With hindsight, in October 2020, there was a ‘circling of the wagons’ to protect the Biden family.

As the FBI sat on the sidelines and the facts, I was tasked by a senior CBS News executive, Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, to authenticate the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop. With due diligence, I verified a handful of records including a million-dollar retainer for Hunter Biden from a Chinese businessman. 

Ciprian-Matthews, who had requested the laptop reporting for then-CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell, seemed displeased that I had verified some of the laptop records.  Once I handed off my reporting to Ciprian-Matthews, it seemed to disappear into a deep black hole. The CBS investigative unit was not tasked to develop its own reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop which would have been standard practice.  

On 60 Minutes, when correspondent Lesley Stahl insisted to President Trump the laptop could not be verified, I felt sick. I knew the laptop could be authenticated and I had shared my verified reporting with senior CBS News executive Ciprian-Matthews.  

When Norah O’Donnell asked then candidate Biden if the laptop was part of a “Russian disinformation campaign.” Biden agreed and characterized it as a “smear campaign.”  I was left wondering if my reporting ever reached O’Donnell or she chose to ignore it. I did not follow up with O’Donnell about the laptop because I felt it was an unwelcome question to the network’s then-managing editor. 

All my previous and current requests to CBS News for comment about the network’s handling of the laptop reporting have gone unanswered.”

https://x.com/c__herridge/status/1909056481032282567?s=46&t=Xv88mZMGVVKm1mUAfLlDxA