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FBI is in Possession of Hunter Biden’s Laptop

Suzy Woltmann Suzy Woltmann
Politics
22nd October 2020
FBI is in Possession of Hunter Biden’s Laptop
The FBI took possession of the laptop in 2019 (Getty Images).

The Claim

The FBI is in possession of Hunter Biden's laptop.

Emerging story

Following the October 2020 New York Post article about Hunter Biden’s laptop, provided by Rudy Giuliani, many users on social media discussed the alleged contents of the laptop and whether they indicate that Hunter Biden – and by association, Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden –  has been involved in foreign corruption. Many shared the claim that the FBI has taken possession of Hunter's laptop.

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar’s investigation found that the FBI took possession of the laptop in 2019. Otherwise, the situation is murky at best. One of Hunter’s prior business associates, Bevan Cooney, recently shared an email account that seems to substantiate the emails allegedly found on the laptop. This was further supported by information shared by Tony Bobulinski, another of Hunter’s prior business associates, who attended the final presidential debate as an invited guest of President Donald Trump. 

However, the emails shared by Cooney do not show him as being in direct contact with Hunter. The most troublesome email shared by Bobulinski includes an equity distribution agreement that asks about "10 held by H for the big guy?"

Bobulinski claims that “the big guy” means Joe Biden, which Trump referenced when he called him “big guy” during the final presidential debate. A message sent six days later from Hunter says that his “Chairman,” who Fox says is Joe Biden, gave an “emphatic NO” to the agreement.

Joe Biden has released his tax returns, which do not indicate that he has received any money from foreign governments. 

After Giuliani gave the emails to the New York Post, Trump called them “major corruption.” Joe Biden called the leak a “desperate smear campaign.” In an interview at the Trump Hotel on October 20, 2020, Giuliani said that the laptop even included images of Hunter engaged in “underage stuff,” implying child pornography.

More than 50 former intelligence officials signed a letter publicly stating that they believe the email leak might be a “Russian information operation” intended to sway the campaign.

However, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said that there is “no intelligence to support” that Russian disinformation efforts were related to the leak.

The FBI later wrote in a statement that they had “nothing to add at this time” about Ratcliffe’s statement.

Misbar has determined that one thing is undeniably true: In 2019, the FBI seized the laptop. The subpoena was linked to a money laundering investigation. In September 2020, John Paul Mac Isaac, the computer repair shop owner who said Hunter left the laptop with his company, gave a copy of the hard drive to Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert J. Costello. It is currently unknown if the FBI discovered anything concerning on the laptop or what is to come of the investigation. We reached out to FBI officials, who declined to comment. 

Misbar’s Classification

True

Misbar’s Sources

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