• Investing
  • Stock
Round Table Thoughts
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Home Economy DOJ knew Hunter Biden laptop was ‘not manipulated,’ contained ‘reliable evidence’ in 2019: Whistleblower
Economy

DOJ knew Hunter Biden laptop was ‘not manipulated,’ contained ‘reliable evidence’ in 2019: Whistleblower

by June 24, 2023
by June 24, 2023 0 comment
Share
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsapp

Federal investigators knew in December 2019 that Hunter Biden’s laptop was ‘not manipulated in any way’ and contained ‘reliable evidence,’ but were ‘obstructed’ from seeing all available information, according to an IRS whistleblower involved in the probe—nearly a year before former intelligence officials and Joe Biden himself, declared it was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

The House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday released testimony from two IRS whistleblowers who said officials at the Justice Department, FBI and IRS interfered with the investigation of the tax evasion case against Hunter Biden. The whistleblowers said decisions in the case seemed to be ‘influenced by politics.’

One whistleblower, Gary Shapley Jr., who was the supervisor of the investigation at the IRS, said that ‘at every stage’ of the Hunter Biden probe, decisions were made that ‘had the effect of benefiting the subject of the investigation.’

Shapley testified that the investigation, codenamed ‘Sportsman,’ was opened in November 2018 as an ‘offshoot’ of an IRS investigation into a ‘foreign-based amateur online pornography platform.’ Testimony released by the committee didn’t include any further explanation of how the pornography outlet and Biden were linked.

The investigation had previously been believed to have been predicated, in part, by suspicious foreign transactions.

Nearly a year later, in October 2019, Shapely said the ‘FBI became aware that a repair shop had a laptop allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden and that the laptop might contain evidence of a crime.’

‘The FBI verified its authenticity in November of 2019 by matching the device number against Hunter Biden’s Apple iCloud ID,’ Shapely said. ‘When the FBI took possession of the device in December 2019, they notified the IRS that it likely contained evidence of tax crimes.’

The laptop repair shop owner, John Paul Mac Isaac, was subpoenaed to testify before the U.S. District Court in Delaware in December 2019.

The FBI’s property receipt for the laptop, first obtained by Fox News Digital in 2020, had a ‘Case ID’ section, which was filled in with a handwritten number: 272D-BA-3065729.

The number ‘272’ is the FBI’s classification for money laundering, while ‘272D’ refers to ‘Money Laundering, Unknown SUA [Specified Unlawful Activity]—White Collar Crime Program,’ according to FBI documents. One government official described ‘272D’ as ‘transnational or blanket.’

Shapely said the FBI verified the authenticity of the laptop, even though many Biden allies said it was Russian disinformation.

It was in October 2020 that Shapley said he emailed Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf, saying: ‘We need to talk about the computer.’ 

Shapley said the FBI appeared to have been making ‘certain representations about the device, and the only reason we know what is on the device is because of the IRS CI affiant search warrant that allowed access to the documents.’

‘My management has to be looped into whatever the FBI is doing with the laptop,’ Shapley said he wrote in an Oct. 19, 2020 email to Wolf. ‘It is IRS CI’s responsibility to know what is happening. Let me know when I can be briefed on this issue.’

Shapley said his email led to ‘a special meeting’ on Oct. 22, 2020 with the prosecution team and the FBI’s computer analysis team to discuss Hunter Biden’s laptop.

‘We once again objected that we still had not been given access to the laptop,’ Shapley said, noting that Wolf admitted that she did not see the laptop because ‘prosecutors decided to keep it from the investigators.’

‘This decision is unprecedented in my experience,’ Shapley said. ‘Investigators assigned to this investigation were obstructed from seeing all the available evidence.’

Shapley further testified that it is ‘unknown if all the evidence in the laptop was reviewed by agents or by prosecutors.’

Shapley had testified that Wolf had worked to ‘limit’ questioning related to Joe Biden—referring to him as ‘dad’ or ‘the big guy.’

With regard to the laptop, Shapley said that ‘based on guidance provided by the prosecutors on a recurring basis to not look into anything related to President Biden, there is no way of knowing if evidence of other criminal activity existed concerning Hunter Biden or President Biden.’

As for the contents of the laptop, Shapley said Wolf ‘acknowledged that there was no reason to believe that any data was manipulated on devices by any third party.’

‘She further supported this belief by mentioning that they corroborated the data with other sources of information received,’ Shapley testified.

But despite corroboration, just weeks before the 2020 election, 51 former national security officials wrote a public letter claiming the Hunter Biden laptop had ‘all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.’ It was signed by former President Obama CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, among others.

Fox News Digital reported last month that former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell worked to write the letter and to get support from ex-intelligence officials. Morell sent a draft of the statement to the CIA’s Prepublication Classification Review Board (PCRB) before making it public.

Morell sent the draft in an email to the PCRB, and  wrote on Oct. 19, 2020, ‘This is a rush job as it needs to get out as soon as possible.’

Morell told the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees that the PCRB ‘approved’ the letter ‘as written’ the same day.

Morell also said it was the Biden campaign that orchestrated the letter to discredit stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop–specifically, now-Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

Three days after the letter was made public, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden used it as a talking point in the final 2020 presidential debate to rebut criticisms made by then-President Donald Trump.

‘There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what this, he’s accusing me of, is a Russian plan,’ Biden said during the debate.

At the time, then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said Hunter Biden’s laptop was not part of a Russian disinformation campaign. The FBI concurred.

These revelations come just days after the Justice Department announced that Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a deal that is expected to keep him out of prison. The president’s son also agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement with regard to a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

In response to the whistleblower allegations, the Justice Department said in a statement: ‘As both the Attorney General and U.S. Attorney David Weiss have said, U.S. Attorney Weiss has full authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges as he deems appropriate. He needs no further approval to do so. Questions about his investigation should be directed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Delaware.’

Brooke Singman is a Fox News Digital politics reporter. You can reach her at Brooke.Singman@Fox.com or @BrookeSingman on Twitter.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
You Might Also Like
  • SC sees tight race in Dem primary for state Senate seat; leader ahead by 11 votes
  • Hunter Biden’s $250K wire from China labeled as a ‘personal investment’
  • Biden slammed after giving his ‘word as a Biden’ that America’s future looks great: ‘We’re screwed’
  • Pelosi university speech interrupted by anti-Israel agitators: ‘Warmonger’
Share
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsapp

previous post
Christie jeered after criticizing Trump at faith event: ‘You can boo all you want’
next post
Whistleblower: ‘No way of knowing’ if evidence of ‘other criminal activity’ existed about Bidens on laptop

You may also like

House Republicans vote to remove Jim Jordan as speaker nominee

October 21, 2023

Cotton endorses Trump, says ‘everything has gone to hell’ under...

January 4, 2024

JD Vance vows Trump would not impose federal abortion ban,...

August 25, 2024

Pence comes out swinging in support of Clarence Thomas

May 7, 2023

Biden admin temporarily drops ‘outrageous climate mandate’ amid flurry of...

April 6, 2024

EURUSD and GBPUSD: EURUSD stabilizes before the ECB report

October 14, 2024

5 convention goals for Trump to make the event a...

July 15, 2024

Biden campaign, Blinken orchestrated intel letter to discredit Hunter Biden...

April 21, 2023

S&P 500 and Nasdaq: Targets and Prices for Friday

October 11, 2024

Meadows mugshot released after turning himself in for Trump-Georgia case...

August 25, 2023

    Stay updated with the latest news, exclusive offers, and special promotions. Sign up now and be the first to know! As a member, you'll receive curated content, insider tips, and invitations to exclusive events. Don't miss out on being part of something special.


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Week Ahead: NIFTY Stays In A Defined Range; Moving Past This Level Crucial For Resumption Of Upmove

      May 31, 2025
    • Breakouts, Momentum & Moving Averages: 10 Must-See Stock Charts Right Now

      May 31, 2025
    • Leadership Rotation Could Confirm Corrective Phase

      May 30, 2025
    • Run Your Stock Portfolio Like a Pro Sports Team

      May 30, 2025
    • U.S. foreign tax bill sends jitters across Wall Street

      May 30, 2025

    Popular Posts

    • 1

      Trump-era China sanctions ended by Biden may be...

      June 27, 2024 2,765 views
    • 2

      Walz’s honeymoon with China gets fresh scrutiny as...

      August 9, 2024 2,472 views
    • 3

      Biden appointee played key role in recruiting Chinese...

      June 25, 2024 2,451 views
    • 4

      Shein’s global ambitions leaves some cybersecurity experts fearful...

      July 10, 2024 2,432 views
    • 5

      Harris VP pick spent years promoting research facility...

      August 29, 2024 2,308 views

    Categories

    • Economy (7,009)
    • Editor's Pick (2,106)
    • Investing (538)
    • Stock (2,582)

    Popular Posts

    • 1

      Trump-era China sanctions ended by Biden may be revived under new House GOP bill

      June 27, 2024
    • 2

      Walz’s honeymoon with China gets fresh scrutiny as Harris camp blasts ‘lying’ critics

      August 9, 2024
    • 3

      Biden appointee played key role in recruiting Chinese businesses to Delaware: ‘Longtime friends’

      June 25, 2024
    • 4

      Shein’s global ambitions leaves some cybersecurity experts fearful of Chinese spy threats

      July 10, 2024
    • 5

      Harris VP pick spent years promoting research facility that collaborated with ‘Chinese military company’

      August 29, 2024

    Latest News

    • Week Ahead: NIFTY Stays In A Defined Range; Moving Past...

      May 31, 2025
    • Breakouts, Momentum & Moving Averages: 10 Must-See Stock Charts Right...

      May 31, 2025
    • Leadership Rotation Could Confirm Corrective Phase

      May 30, 2025

    Categories

    • Economy (7,009)
    • Editor's Pick (2,106)
    • Investing (538)
    • Stock (2,582)

    Disclaimer: RoundTableThoughts.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2024 RoundTableThoughts.com. All Rights Reserved.

    Round Table Thoughts
    • Investing
    • Stock
    Round Table Thoughts
    • Economy
    • Editor’s Pick

    Read alsox

    NRA says Biden admin’s proposal for...

    September 4, 2023

    Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee proposes...

    January 18, 2023

    Mayorkas deflects blame on border crisis,...

    May 8, 2023
    Sign In

    Keep me signed in until I sign out

    Forgot your password?

    Password Recovery

    A new password will be emailed to you.

    Have received a new password? Login here