Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antony Blinken</a> could face a contempt of Congress charge from House Republicans as soon as May 24 after refusing to turn over a key document warning U.S. officials about a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan before withdrawing in August 2021.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12073655/Republicans-legal-action-against-Secretary-State-time-HISTORY-24.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Mail</a> that members of Congress gave Blinken and State Department officials &#8220;ample time&#8221; to hand over the classified dissent report, which reportedly urged allies to evacuate immediately before the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.
Republican lawmakers said they would immediately pursue legal proceedings if Blinken missed the fourth deadline given to the official on Thursday to comply with the subpoena.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve given them ample time,&#8221; McCaul said. &#8220;Three extensions of time we tried to work this out, but unfortunately, it doesn&#8217;t appear that that&#8217;s going to work, and the next step will be to move to contempt proceedings.&#8221;
McCaul wrote in a statement earlier this week that the department is now in violation of its legal obligation to produce such documents. State Department officials argue the committee received the classified briefings with a written summary on the dissent, but McCaul said the &#8220;misleading&#8221; information turned over has been &#8220;insufficient.&#8221;
&#8220;Should the Department fail to comply with its legal obligation, the Committee is prepared to take the necessary steps to enforce its subpoena, including holding you in contempt of Congress and/or initiating a civil enforcement proceeding,&#8221; McCaul said, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sec-blinken-faces-contempt-congress-charge-ignoring-multiple-house-subpoenas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>.
McCaul said the committee plans to meet on May 24 to hold Blinken in contempt and move the charge to the House of Representatives for a full vote — the first time in U.S. history that lawmakers would take action against a sitting Secretary of State, according to the Republican.
President Joe Biden withdrew from Afghanistan on August 2021, ending two decades of U.S. military presence. The last troop plane departed after a weeks-long chaotic evacuation, which led to a terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 civilians, and leaving potentially up to $24 billion worth of weapons and equipment in the hands of the Taliban.
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&#8220;American people and the veterans and the Gold Star families are right to know what the thinking was in the embassy at the time to take the extraordinary measure to dissent from the policy,&#8221; McCaul said. &#8220;We also want to see Secretary Blinken&#8217;s response to the dissenting cable to see what the state of mind was a month before the debacle and the collapse of Afghanistan, which culminated in the killing of 13 service men and women.&#8221;
The Daily Mail reported that if lawmakers hold Blinken in contempt of Congress, Biden&#8217;s Department of Justice would have to comply with legal proceedings, but would likely forego taking action against the administration official.

Capitol Hill

Republicans Signal Charging Blinken With Contempt Of Congress Over Key Afghanistan Withdrawal Memo

Republicans Signal Charging Blinken With Contempt Of Congress Over Refusing Afghanistan Withdrawal Memo

Afghanistan

Antony Blinken

Biden Administration

Congress

U.S.

U.S. Military

Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antony Blinken</a>&#8216;s links to members of President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>&#8216;s immediate family go beyond just <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hunter-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hunter Biden</a>, but he denied their business dealings came up in conversation.
<a href="https://twitter.com/paulsperry_/status/1655965367867691008" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As pointed out</a> by RealClearInvestigations reporter Paul Sperry on Tuesday, Blinken estimated during a December 2020 interview with Senate investigators that he met with James Biden, one of the president&#8217;s brothers, several times over the past couple decades.
&#8220;Oh, over the course of the, roughly, 20 years that I&#8217;ve worked for the president-elect, hard to say. A dozen,&#8221; Blinken said, according to a <a href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/2020-12-22-Blinken%20Interview%20with%20Exhibits%20-%20updated%20-%20reduced.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently released transcript</a>.
Like Hunter Biden, James Biden has come under scrutiny over the years due to lucrative financial dealings across the globe, as was explored in a <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/08/02/joe-biden-investigation-hunter-brother-hedge-fund-money-2020-campaign-227407/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2019 POLITICO Magazine article</a> titled &#8220;Biden Inc.&#8221; looking into how Joe Biden&#8217;s &#8220;family fortunes have closely tracked his political career.&#8221;
When asked about Joe Biden&#8217;s brother, Blinken said his discussions with James Biden did not touch on Hunter Biden&#8217;s business dealings. He also denied talking about James Biden&#8217;s business dealings in the same line of questioning.
Republican lawmakers have already begun to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-start-calling-for-blinken-to-resign-over-hunter-biden-laptop-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">express doubt</a> about Blinken&#8217;s level of honesty during that interview focused largely on a time when Joe Biden was vice president. This is because Blinken said he did not have email communications with Hunter Biden while serving as deputy secretary of state during the Obama-Biden administration, but Fox News reported Blinken did use a personal email account to correspond with Hunter Biden about <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blinken-wife-emailed-frequently-hunter-biden-raising-questions-role-laptop-cover-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scheduling a meeting</a> in 2015 when the then-vice president&#8217;s son was on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings.
Blinken said he was not aware of Hunter Biden&#8217;s association with Burisma at the time and claimed the only topic he could remember discussing with Hunter Biden when they ended up meeting at the State Department in July of 2015 was how the death of Hunter Biden&#8217;s brother Beau Biden due to brain cancer was affecting the Biden family.
Several members of the Biden family are likely to get mentioned during a press conference House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) plans to hold on Wednesday. Comer urged the Justice Department over the weekend <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/comer-urges-feds-not-to-indict-hunter-biden-before-wednesday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not to indict Hunter Biden</a>, who may soon be charged with tax- and gun-related crimes, until Republicans have a chance to present evidence showing how a &#8220;web&#8221; of LLCs is being used by foreign adversaries to improperly pay members of the Biden family in exchange for favors.
Earlier this year, Comer announced that subpoenaed financial records dating back to Joe Biden&#8217;s time as vice president showed <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/16/politics/house-gop-memo-biden-family/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1 million in indirect payments</a> from a Chinese energy company to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-start-calling-for-blinken-to-resign-over-hunter-biden-laptop-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his son Hunter Biden</a>, James Biden, daughter-in-law Hallie Biden, and an unknown “Biden,&#8221; adding fuel to concerns about influence peddling and business schemes.
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A spokesperson for Hunter Biden pushed back on the &#8220;baseless right-wing conspiracy,&#8221; <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/16/politics/house-gop-memo-biden-family/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">telling CNN</a> that the president&#8217;s son &#8220;received his portion of good faith seed funds&#8221; as part of a joint venture and then shared this money &#8220;with his uncle, James Biden, and Hallie Biden, with whom he was involved with at the time, and sharing expenses.” President Biden, who has sought to distance himself from the business dealings of his family members, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-denies-1m-payments-family-hunter-associate-despite-bank-records-not-true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rejected the GOP&#8217;s findings</a>, too.
Blinken, who served as an adviser to Joe Biden&#8217;s 2020 presidential campaign, has also denied soliciting what became a letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials suggesting the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hunter-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hunter Biden</a> laptop story could be part of a Russian disinformation operation just weeks before the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/2020-election" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2020 election</a> after former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell said a conversation they had prompted the effort.
&#8220;With regard to that letter, I didn&#8217;t — it wasn&#8217;t my idea, didn&#8217;t ask for it, didn&#8217;t solicit it,&#8221; Blinken said during an <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/secretary-state-blinken-denies-role-hunter-biden-russian-disinfo-letter-wasnt-my-idea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview last week with Fox News</a>. Asked if he accepts that the Hunter Biden laptop story was not Russian disinformation, Blinken said he would not be <a class="c-link" href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/secretary-state-blinken-denies-role-hunter-biden-russian-disinfo-letter-wasnt-my-idea" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.foxnews.com/media/secretary-state-blinken-denies-role-hunter-biden-russian-disinfo-letter-wasnt-my-idea" data-sk="tooltip_parent">&#8220;engaging in politics&#8221;</a> while focused on the job of being the nation&#8217;s top diplomat.

Blinken Says He Met With James Biden ‘A Dozen’ Times, Denies Business Talk

Hunter Biden

James Biden

Joe Biden

Politics

NewsNation host Chris Cuomo brought in fired FBI agent Peter Strzok to discuss the recent news concerning Secretary of State Antony Blinken&#8217;s contact with Hunter Biden and alleged attempts to hide that interaction when speaking to Congress.
Strzok <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-details-several-security-violations-against-anti-trump-agent-peter-strzok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was fired</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-it-fbis-brutal-draft-letter-firing-disgraced-agent-peter-strzok-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">from the FBI</a> in 2018 after several of his private text messages — many disparaging former President Donald Trump and Trump voters — were made public, but he has remained in the public eye as a political commentator. He argued that Blinken&#8217;s testimony was not so much an attempt to hide something criminal as it was an attempt to hide something politically damaging.
WATCH:
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Former fed <a href="https://twitter.com/petestrzok?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteStrzok</a> defends <a href="https://twitter.com/SecBlinken?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecBlinken</a> falsely testifying in 2020 that he never emailed with Hunter Biden: &quot;There’s a difference between catching somebody in a criminal act and catching them in a politically problematic act.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/KqkZ95Mh9R">pic.twitter.com/KqkZ95Mh9R</a>
&mdash; Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1653712014106132483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Cuomo referenced the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-senator-claims-blinken-lied-under-oath-about-hunter-biden-contacts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claim made Sunday</a> by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) when he told &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; host Maria Bartiromo that Blinken had communicated via email with Hunter Biden in 2015 — but had then told Congress in 2020 that the two had not been in communication.
&#8220;Now, because of more information that’s come out, we know that he lied bold-faced to Congress about never e-mailing Hunter Biden,&#8221; Johnson said, adding, &#8220;My guess is, he told a bunch of other lies.&#8221;
Turning the question to Strzok, Cuomo asked whether he believed Blinken had been &#8220;caught&#8221; — and Strzok quickly downplayed that possibility.
&#8220;Well, Chris, I think there’s a difference between catching somebody in a criminal act and catching them in a politically problematic act,&#8221; he said. &#8220;As I read that transcript, this was a 2020 interview and they&#8217;re asking current Secretary Blinken about events that occurred in 2015.&#8221;
Strzok went on to concede that Blinken had clearly denied conversations that now appear to have taken place — but he said that was &#8220;still a long way from being a violation of the law,&#8221; and there was a lot of wiggle room for Blinken to simply say that he had not remembered any of those conversations.
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&#8220;For a criminal violation it would have to be a knowing and willful act,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And I think, frankly, that&#8217;s — what we know now — that&#8217;s a long way away from the facts. But that&#8217;s very separate from whether this is a political problem or not.&#8221;

Peter Strzok

Chris Cuomo Brings In Big Guns To Defend Blinken’s Alleged Lies: Disgraced FBI Agent Peter Strzok

Chris Cuomo Brings In Big Guns To Defend Blinken's Alleged Lies: Disgraced FBI Agent Peter Strzok

Chris Cuomo

Media

Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antony Blinken</a> denies soliciting what became a letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials suggesting the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hunter-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hunter Biden</a> laptop story could be part of a Russian disinformation operation just weeks before the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/2020-election" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2020 election</a>.
The topic came up after the GOP-led House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees disclosed portions of a transcribed interview in which former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell talked about putting together the letter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-start-calling-for-blinken-to-resign-over-hunter-biden-laptop-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">following a conversation</a> with Blinken in October 2020.
&#8220;With regard to that letter, I didn&#8217;t – it wasn&#8217;t my idea, didn&#8217;t ask for it, didn&#8217;t solicit it,&#8221; Blinken said during a Monday <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/secretary-state-blinken-denies-role-hunter-biden-russian-disinfo-letter-wasnt-my-idea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview with Fox News</a>. &#8220;And I think the testimony that the former deputy director of the CIA, Mike Morrell, put forward confirms that.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Secretary of State Antony Blinken denies that he asked for the letter to be written claiming the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian Disinformation and when asked if he accepts that the laptop isn’t Russian Disinformation, he says “I’m not engaging in politics”. <a href="https://t.co/2spkML1B9M">pic.twitter.com/2spkML1B9M</a>
&mdash; ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) <a href="https://twitter.com/alx/status/1653201136357191686?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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A portion of the transcript shows <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-04-20-jdj-mt-to-blinken-re-public-statement-on-hunter-biden-emails_0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morell said &#8220;yes&#8221;</a> when asked if a call around mid-October 2020 from Blinken, who was then an adviser to President Joe Biden&#8217;s campaign at the time, triggered the letter. This led Republican leaders to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deep-state-connection-ex-cia-chief-says-blinken-spurred-bid-to-discredit-hunter-biden-laptop-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raise concerns</a> about a &#8220;concerted effort to minimize and suppress public dissemination of the serious allegations about the Biden family&#8221; during the height of campaign season.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee say Republicans released <a href="https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5150" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cherry-picking excerpts</a> from the interview with Morell. They disclosed a different part of the transcript showing Morell said he could not remember Blinken asking or even suggesting that a statement about the laptop be put together.
&#8220;To be clear, no part of that interview demonstrates that Tony Blinken or any other Biden campaign official asked Mike Morell to write a letter about Hunter Biden’s laptop,&#8221; <a href="https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5150" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said a statement</a> from a spokesperson for the Judiciary Democrats.
The October 19, 2020, letter signed by 51 intelligence veterans said the laptop&#8217;s alleged contents have &#8220;all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.&#8221; After POLITICO, the news outlet that first reported the statement, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/19/hunter-biden-story-russian-disinfo-430276" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published a headline</a> that said the former intelligence officials were claiming the story was &#8220;Russian disinfo,&#8221; then-candidate Joe Biden, Hunter&#8217;s father, used the statement to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house-gop-demand-records-from-ex-intel-officials-about-hunter-biden-laptop-letter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cast doubt on the laptop story</a> during one of his debates with then-President Donald Trump weeks before the election.
The laptop became a subject of interest after the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began reporting</a> on details of Hunter Biden&#8217;s shady business dealings and personal life that it contained. Over the past two years, many of the contents of the laptop, which was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/02/politics/hunter-biden-laptop/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seized by the FBI</a>, have been <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/30/hunter-biden-laptop-data-examined/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/30/hunter-biden-laptop-data-examined/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">analyzed and shown to be authentic</a>. Hunter Biden is under investigation by federal prosecutors looking into potential crimes related to his tax affairs, foreign business dealings, and a gun purchase. The president’s son has said he expects to be <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/big-footing-house-investigation-into-hunter-biden-could-hit-firewall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cleared of wrongdoing</a>.
Among the signees <a href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000175-4393-d7aa-af77-579f9b330000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on the letter</a>, beyond Morell, were former CIA Directors John Brennan, Leon Panetta, and Michael Hayden. Another of the letter&#8217;s most prominent signees, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, in February accused POLITICO of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-spy-chief-accuses-politico-of-distorting-letter-on-hunter-biden-laptop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“deliberately” misrepresenting</a> its message. POLITICO defended its reporting about the letter.
Dan Hoffman, the CIA&#8217;s <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/extraordinarily-dangerous-former-cia-moscow-station-chief-blasts-leaks-on-russian-informant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">former Moscow station chief</a>, recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cia-veteran-reveals-why-he-didnt-sign-hunter-biden-laptop-letter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">came forward</a> to say that he and &#8220;many others&#8221; were asked to sign the letter but declined to do it.
“I remember I got the letter, October 18, 2020, and at first glance, it seemed natural to lay the blame at the Kremlin’s doorstep. Remember, Vladimir Putin is in the Kremlin and he’s well known for cloak-and-dagger espionage operations,&#8221; Hoffman told Fox News. &#8220;But at the same time, there was no evidence and the letter noted there was no evidence. And I just felt like we needed to do the forensics.&#8221;
Asked if he accepts that the Hunter Biden laptop story was not Russian disinformation, Blinken said he would not be <a class="c-link" href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/secretary-state-blinken-denies-role-hunter-biden-russian-disinfo-letter-wasnt-my-idea" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.foxnews.com/media/secretary-state-blinken-denies-role-hunter-biden-russian-disinfo-letter-wasnt-my-idea" data-sk="tooltip_parent">&#8220;engaging in politics&#8221;</a> while focused on the job of being the nation&#8217;s top diplomat.
After Congress released portions of Morell&#8217;s testimony about Blinken, Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-start-calling-for-blinken-to-resign-over-hunter-biden-laptop-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began to call</a> for the Secretary of State to resign. Meanwhile, Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have accused Blinken of providing false testimony to Congress regarding his communications with Hunter Biden over the years. They have <a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/johnson_grassley_to_blinken_-_december_2020_transcript.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demanded records</a> for an investigation.
When The Daily Wire reached out for a response to the false testimony claim, the State Department declined to say anything beyond referring to <a href="https://www.state.gov/briefings/department-press-briefing-april-21-2023/#post-439830-Misc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recent statement</a> by an agency spokesperson refusing to get into what is &#8220;not a State Department issue.&#8221;

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

Blinken Denies Asking For Hunter Biden Laptop Letter

2020 Election

laptop computer

Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antony Blinken</a> lied to Congress about his communications with President Joe Biden&#8217;s son Hunter Biden, a GOP senator claimed on Sunday.
A <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blinken-wife-emailed-frequently-hunter-biden-raising-questions-role-laptop-cover-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new report</a>, which revealed emails sent between Blinken and Biden in 2015, led Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) to declare plans to release the transcript from a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/27/biden-adviser-ukraine-probe-disposition-403844" target="_blank" rel="noopener">December 2020 interview</a> in which Blinken allegedly said such communications never happened.
&#8220;Now, because of more information that&#8217;s come out, we know that he lied bold-faced to Congress about never e-mailing Hunter Biden,&#8221; Johnson <a href="https://rumble.com/v2la562-ron-johnson-we-now-have-evidence-that-show-blinken-boldface-lied-while-unde.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said during an appearance on Fox News</a> — alluding to what would be a crime that could warrant up to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/07/what-happens-if-you-lie-to-congress.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five years in prison</a>.
&#8220;My guess is, he told a bunch of other lies, that, hopefully, we will be able to bring him and his wife back in, tell them to preserve their records,&#8221; he added during an interview with &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; anchor Maria Bartiromo. &#8220;You cannot trust Joe Biden. You cannot trust Hunter Biden. You can&#8217;t trust the Biden family. You can&#8217;t trust so many of the people that they have surrounded themselves with.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecBlinken?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecBlinken</a> lied boldface to Congress about never emailing Hunter Biden.
Biden family co-conspirators inside intel agencies, DoJ, FBI, and the legacy media need to be exposed. They represent the greatest threat to our democracy.
More whistleblowers need to come forward. <a href="https://t.co/z4oRfH6Rmg">pic.twitter.com/z4oRfH6Rmg</a>
&mdash; Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRonJohnson/status/1652707089104396292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Last week, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blinken-wife-emailed-frequently-hunter-biden-raising-questions-role-laptop-cover-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported on the emails</a>, which showed correspondence between Blinken and the younger Biden in 2015, talking about scheduling a meeting at a time when Blinken was serving as deputy secretary of state.
The report also showed emails in 2010 and 2011 between Blinken&#8217;s wife, Evan Ryan, who has held positions in the State Department and White House, and Hunter Biden as well as Hunter Biden&#8217;s longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin.
Upon being reached for comment on Johnson&#8217;s interview, the State Department directed The Daily Wire to <a href="https://www.state.gov/briefings/department-press-briefing-april-21-2023/#post-439830-Misc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recent statement</a> by an agency spokesperson to reporters and said the State Department has no further comment.
In the referenced exchange, a reporter asked Deputy Press Secretary Vedant Patel if Blinken disputed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-start-calling-for-blinken-to-resign-over-hunter-biden-laptop-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allegations that he played a role</a> in prompting an October 2020 statement signed by 51 intelligence veterans suggesting the Hunter Biden laptop story could be part of a Russian disinformation operation. The report also asked if Blinken plans to respond to a GOP letter with a May 4 deadline.
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&#8220;That is not a State Department issue, so I don&#8217;t have a comment for you on that,&#8221; Patel said. Asked whom reporters should contact if not the State Department, Patel simply responded: &#8220;It is not a State Department issue, and I don’t really have a comment on this from the State Department.&#8221;
The White House, where Ryan currently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/26/us/politics/state-dinner-guest-list.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">works as cabinet secretary</a>, has fired back at GOP investigators. &#8220;House Republicans are weaponizing their power to go after their political opponents and re-litigate the 2020 election with misleading claims,&#8221; White House spokesman Ian Sams <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blinken-wife-emailed-frequently-hunter-biden-raising-questions-role-laptop-cover-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Fox News</a>.
Johnson, who for years has investigated the Biden family and raised allegations of corruption, said Blinken needs to be subpoenaed. But with Democrats in control of the Senate, Johnson pushed for voluntary cooperation and, if that does not happen, held out hope for the GOP-led House to issue subpoenas.
&#8220;We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to show how corrupt these individuals are,&#8221; Johnson said.

Secretary Of State Antony Blinken

GOP Senator Claims Blinken Lied Under Oath About Hunter Biden Contacts

Ron Johnson

World Health Organization officials warned Tuesday that an &#8220;extremely, extremely dangerous&#8221; situation threatens public health after fighters in conflict-ravaged Sudan occupied a central national laboratory carrying samples of deadly diseases, including polio and cholera.
&#8220;There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab&#8230; by one of the fighting parties,&#8221; Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO&#8217;s representative in Sudan, told reporters in Geneva, observed by <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12011135/WHO-warns-huge-biological-risk-Sudan-fighters-storm-national-laboratory.html">The Daily Mail</a>.
Hundreds of civilians and paramilitary forces were killed or injured in a series of airstrikes in Khartoum last week as the Sudanese army bombed positions held by the country&#8217;s RSF paramilitary group in a power struggle that some international observers fear could ignite a full-blown civil war.
Abid said fighters took over the Khartoum laboratory in the African country and &#8220;kicked out all the technicians from the lab&#8230; which is completely under the control of one of the fighting parties as a military base,&#8221; NBC <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sudan-virus-risk-world-health-organization-says-lab-occupied-disease-samples/">reported</a>. However, the health official did not specify which of the two warring factions gained control of the public health facility.
Abid sounded the alarm, noting that the lab carries a range of deadly diseases, including measles, polio, and cholera while warning chemical and bio-risk hazards also pose a high risk due to a lack of functioning generators.
The head of Khartoum&#8217;s national lab reportedly broke the news to Abid on Monday via phone call, one day before both military groups agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire following &#8220;intense&#8221; negotiations brokered by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
World Health officials reported on Tuesday that the Sudanese health ministry had tallied at least 459 deaths and over 4,000 others injured. Five deaths included aid workers from two United Nations agencies: the International Organization for Migration and the World Food Programme. Both groups have since suspended their operations.
&#8220;In areas where intense fighting has hampered our humanitarian operations, we have been forced to reduce our footprint,&#8221; Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the United Nations humanitarian office, said. &#8220;But we are committed to continue to deliver for the people of Sudan,&#8221; adding the team would lead humanitarian operations out of Port Sudan after transferring from Khartoum.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it&#8217;s bracing for approximately 270,000 people to flee Sudan into neighboring countries after thousands have escaped.
The Biden administration defended the State Department&#8217;s decision this week to evacuate embassy personnel from Sudan while taking limited steps to aid thousands of Americans thought to still be in the country.
The U.S. Department of State has estimated that 16,000 Americans remain in Sudan. Still, the government does not have a firm count because Americans living or traveling abroad are not required to check in or make their plans known to the U.S. government.
Still, officials said they have refrained from launching broader evacuation efforts for Americans in Sudan because of the region&#8217;s instability.
Blinken said that many Americans currently in Sudan are dual citizens who do not want to leave the country despite its deteriorating conditions.
&#8220;The overwhelming majority of Americans citizens in Sudan are dual nationals who made their lives there, who have been living there for years, decades, for generations, and many want to continue to do that,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But for those who are seeking to leave, we will continue to engage directly with them to see what we can do to help them, and, like I said, with allies and partners as well to help facilitate their departure.&#8221;
Tim Pearce and Zach Jewell contributed to this report.

Ceasefire for 72 hours after clashes in Sudan

WHO Warns ‘Huge Biological Risk’ Threatens Public Health After Sudan Fighters Occupy Lab Carrying Deadly Diseases

WHO Warns 'Huge Biological Risk' Threatens Public Health After Sudan Fighters Occupy Lab Carrying Deadly Diseases

Disease

Sudan

World

World Health Organization

Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) on Saturday called on Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antony Blinken</a> to testify in front of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> over his role in an attempt to falsely discredit the authenticity of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hunter-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hunter Biden</a>’s laptop.
Hageman threw down the challenge on Saturday in an interview on Sirius XM’s Breitbart News Saturday. Hageman, who successfully primaried former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney last year, sits on the House Judiciary Committee and the special Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
Ohio Republicans Jim Jordan and Mike Turner, the chairmen of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees respectively, sent a <a href="https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/1649202188684611584" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Blinken last week revealing that the Biden cabinet official “played a role” in crafting and disseminating a statement by 51 former intelligence officials casting doubt on the veracity of Hunter’s laptop in October 2020, shortly before the November election.
Michael Morell, a former CIA deputy director and one of the statement’s signatories, testified to the House that he had no intention of signing such as statement until after Blinken, then a senior adviser on President Joe Biden’s campaign, reached out to discuss the Hunter Biden laptop. Morell also said the Biden campaign strategized on how to publicly release the letter.
Hageman said Blinken needs to appear before the House so lawmakers can judge whether he is “compromised” and unable to fulfill his oath to the American people, according to <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/23/exclusive-rep-harriet-hageman-calls-for-antony-blinken-to-appear-before-the-weaponization-committee/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Breitbart</a>.
“He better. He needs to,” she said, referring to testifying on Capitol Hill. “We have either the Judiciary or the Weaponization Committees. We need to find out what happened here. And we need to find out to what extent he is compromised because, again, as secretary of state his obligation and oath is to the United States and the American citizens.”
“How does he interact with counterparts in the Chinese Communist Party, Russia, Ukraine or whatever,” Hageman said. Hunter Biden’s laptop, which Morell said Blinken worked to discredit, contained emails on Hunter’s business deals in foreign countries, as well as some suggesting that his father, President Biden, stood to benefit.
President Biden has denied benefitting from, or even speaking with his son about the foreign business deals. The president’s latter assertion came under scrutiny last year after a voicemail <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-biden-spoke-with-hunter-about-dealings-with-chinese-oil-tycoon-voicemail-reveals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> on Hunter’s laptop revealed the president called his son about a report in The New York Times in part on Hunter’s dealings with a Chinese businessman.
“What this is demonstrating is that the corruption goes extremely deep, but the [bigger] question is, how does he interact with his own boss when he knows the level of corruption in the White House? How does he protect America’s interests abroad, when he’s doing the bidding of a man that he knows is absolutely corrupt [and] absolutely compromised?” Hageman said of Blinken.
“[Blinken] knew what was on that laptop, and he knew that laptop belonged to Hunter Biden. And he knew and he knows now that the Chinese Communist Party has paid the Biden family millions of dollars. Who does he choose? Does he pick the Biden crime family to support and defend and protect them? Or does he protect the United States of America? We now know what the answer is,” she said.

Harriet Hageman

Hageman Says Blinken Should Testify Over Biden Campaign’s Role In Pushing False Claims About Hunter’s Laptop

State Department

Washington D.C.

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> is defending the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/state-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State Department</a>’s decision to evacuate embassy personnel from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sudan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sudan</a> while taking limited steps to aid thousands of Americans thought to still be in the country.
U.S. special forces evacuated the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, on Saturday as the country edges toward civil war. Violence across the country is believed to have taken hundreds of lives and left thousands more wounded in a power struggle between Sudan’s two top military leaders.
The U.S. Department of State has estimated that 16,000 Americans remain in Sudan, but the government does not have a firm count because Americans living or traveling abroad are not required to check in with or otherwise make their plans known to the U.S. government.
“We never know with any precision how many Americans may be there at any given time because Americans are not required to register with the embassy, with the government either when they go, when they reside, or when they leave,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a Monday <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNxoacGbNYk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press conference</a>.
National security spokesman John Kirby echoed Blinken’s comments on network shows on Monday. “That number is an estimate. We don’t have great confidence in that number precisely,” Kirby <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1650509134276558852" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.
The State Department has said it has refrained from launching broader evacuation efforts for Americans in Sudan because of the region’s instability.
Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has primarily been centered in Khartoum and has caused a breakdown in civil order in the city. Numerous businesses and other operations, including the city’s airport, have shuttered while soldiers, militias, and gangs control the streets.
Blinken said that the State Department is in touch with “dozens” of Americans in Sudan who have expressed interest in leaving the country.
“Even with the withdrawal of embassy personnel from Sudan, our efforts to provide services to American citizens who are there, consular services, other services, advice, continues, and we’re in regular communication with American citizens,” Blinken said. “We are looking to see how we can help them ensure their own safety. We have been working with allies and partners to do as much as we can to enable them to find their way out, if that’s what they choose to do.”
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Blinken said that many Americans currently in Sudan are dual citizens who do not want to leave the country despite its deteriorating conditions.
“The overwhelming majority of Americans citizens in Sudan are dual nationals who made their lives there, who have been living there for years, decades, for generations, and many want to continue to do that,” he said. “But for those who are seeking to leave, we will continue to engage directly with them to see what we can do to help them, and, like I said, with allies and partners as well to help facilitate their departure.”

Biden Admin Says Total Number Of Americans Left In Sudan Unknown

Global Politics

John Kirby

Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antony Blinken</a> should resign, some Republicans in Congress are beginning to say, after the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deep-state-connection-ex-cia-chief-says-blinken-spurred-bid-to-discredit-hunter-biden-laptop-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bombshell revelation</a> that the nation&#8217;s top diplomat may have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deep-state-connection-ex-cia-chief-says-blinken-spurred-bid-to-discredit-hunter-biden-laptop-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a driving force</a> behind a bid to discredit reporting about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hunter-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hunter Biden</a> — in particular a laptop that allegedly contained information about his shady business dealings and personal life — weeks before the 2020 election.
Calls for Blinken to step down followed the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee releasing a small excerpt of a deposition with former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell during an interview with the judiciary panel and the House Intelligence Committee.
A portion of a transcript shows Morell said &#8220;yes&#8221; when asked if a call around mid-October 2020 from Blinken, who was then an adviser to President Joe Biden&#8217;s campaign at the time, triggered a statement signed by 51 intelligence veterans suggesting the Hunter Biden laptop story could be part of a Russian disinformation operation. Morell also testified that Steve Ricchetti, chairman of the Biden campaign, called Morell following a presidential debate to thank him for helping to put together the statement and admitted he wanted Biden to win the election.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: Testimony Reveals Secretary Blinken and the Biden Campaign Were Behind the Infamous Public Statement from Former Intel Officials on the Hunter Biden Laptop <a href="https://twitter.com/Jim_Jordan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jim_Jordan</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMikeTurner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepMikeTurner</a> reveal HUGE news here: <a href="https://t.co/bX3fpqJKPo">pic.twitter.com/bX3fpqJKPo</a>
&mdash; House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/1649202188684611584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;This, in my opinion, probably disqualifies him to serve as the secretary of state,&#8221; Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) <a href="https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/sattwo-key-republicans-call-secretary-state-blinken-resign-over" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Just the News</a> on Friday. &#8220;Tony Blinken, you should resign,&#8221; he also said in addition to floating the prospect of impeachment.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), a lead congressional investigator of the Biden family, said Blinken should resign if he is proven to be the &#8220;impetus&#8221; of the statement. “And if he doesn’t resign, he should be impeached,” <a href="https://thestarnewsnetwork.com/2023/04/21/exclusive-u-s-senator-ron-johnson-says-secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-should-resign-if-he-was-impetus-behind-hunter-biden-laptop-scandal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Johnson told The Star News Network</a>. “Again, so many members of the Biden administration have this level of deceit, dishonesty and corruption. This is a lawless administration.”
A more blunt assessment came from Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX). &#8220;Anthony Blinken is a disgrace,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/RonnyJacksonTX/status/1649420573976457216" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he tweeted</a>. &#8220;He has now lost ALL credibility. He’s damaged our country irreparably. He needs to RESIGN NOW!!&#8221;
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee say Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) released <a href="https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5150" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cherry-picking excerpts</a> from the interview with Morell and released a different part of the transcript showing Morell said he could not remember Blinken asking or even suggesting that a statement about the laptop be put together.
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&#8220;To be clear, no part of that interview demonstrates that Tony Blinken or any other Biden campaign official asked Mike Morell to write a letter about Hunter Biden’s laptop,&#8221; <a href="https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5150" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said a statement</a> from a spokesperson for the Judiciary Democrats.
The October 19, 2020, statement signed by 51 retired intelligence officials said the laptop&#8217;s alleged contents have &#8220;all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.&#8221; After POLITICO, the news outlet that first reported the statement, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/19/hunter-biden-story-russian-disinfo-430276" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published a headline</a> that said the former intelligence officials were claiming the story was &#8220;Russian disinfo,&#8221; then-candidate Joe Biden, Hunter&#8217;s father, used the statement to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house-gop-demand-records-from-ex-intel-officials-about-hunter-biden-laptop-letter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cast doubt on the laptop story</a> during one of his debates with then-President Donald Trump weeks before the election.
Over the past two years, many of the laptop&#8217;s contents have been <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/30/hunter-biden-laptop-data-examined/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/30/hunter-biden-laptop-data-examined/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">analyzed and shown to be authentic</a>. Hunter Biden&#8217;s lawyers recently began to send letters to state and federal officials <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hunter-biden-demands-criminal-investigation-into-several-figures-after-admitting-infamous-laptop-is-his" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demanding investigations into individuals</a> involved in disseminating the contents of the laptop, including to the media. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, insisted the letters <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/hunter-bidens-lawyer-says-letters-dont-mean-laptop-is-his/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">do not &#8220;confirm&#8221;</a> the laptop was his client&#8217;s device.
One of the statement&#8217;s most prominent signees, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, recently accused POLITICO of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-spy-chief-accuses-politico-of-distorting-letter-on-hunter-biden-laptop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;deliberately&#8221; misrepresenting</a> its message. POLITICO defended its reporting about the statement.
Hunter Biden is separately under investigation by federal prosecutors looking into potential crimes related to his tax affairs, foreign business dealings, and a gun purchase. The president&#8217;s son has said he expects to be <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/big-footing-house-investigation-into-hunter-biden-could-hit-firewall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cleared of wrongdoing</a>. A meeting with Justice Department officials is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hunter-bidens-lawyers-to-meet-with-federal-prosecutors-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scheduled for next week</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;Does [Secretary Blinken] dispute the accuracy of the GOP letter sent to him on Hunter Biden?&quot;
Blinken spokesman: &quot;I don’t have a comment for you on that&quot;
&quot;Do you know who we can ask about it?&quot;
Blinken spokesman: &quot;I don’t really have a comment on this&quot; <a href="https://t.co/yg7IJRQ5t0">pic.twitter.com/yg7IJRQ5t0</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1649588643852619776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In conducting an investigation into the laptop controversy, Jordan and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Michael Turner (R-OH) have sent letters seeking information from each of the 51 intelligence veterans who signed the October 2020 statement. Portions of Morell&#8217;s testimony appeared in a letter to Blinken seeking information and records tied to the Hunter Biden issue. A deadline of May 4 is listed.
Asked by a reporter if Blinken disputes the accuracy of what is written in the Republicans&#8217; letter, a State Department spokesperson <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1649588643852619776" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declined to engage</a>. &#8220;That is not a State Department issue, so I don&#8217;t have a comment for you on that,&#8221; said Deputy Press Secretary Vedant Patel.

Republicans Start Calling For Blinken To Resign Over Hunter Biden Laptop Story

In a bombshell revelation, the former head of the CIA, Mike Morell, confessed that he had been asked by current Secretary of State Antony Blinken, then a senior member of the Biden 2020 presidential campaign, to help discredit the story of Hunter Biden’s laptop computer.
Morell, who served as CIA director at various times between 2010-2013, told the House Judiciary Committee, headed by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), that he coordinated a letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials that claimed The New York Post’s disclosure of emails allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden — which CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/18/media/new-york-post-hunter-biden-reliable/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> as a “dubious story” —  had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” That letter, titled, “Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former officials say,” was published in <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/19/hunter-biden-story-russian-disinfo-430276" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLITICO</a> only days after news of the laptop was reported.
Jordan joined Michael Turner, the chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, to issue a letter to Blinken on Thursday asking for communications he had conducted with Morell regarding the laptop.
“Based on Morell&#8217;s testimony, it is apparent that the Biden campaign played an active role in the origins of the public statement, which had the effect of helping to suppress the Hunter Biden story and preventing American citizens from making a fully informed decision during the 2020 presidential election,” they stated.
“Although the statement&#8217;s signatories have an unquestioned right to free speech and free association — which we do not dispute — their reference to their national security credentials lent weight to the story and suggested access to specialized information unavailable to other Americans,” they continued. “This concerted effort to minimize and suppress public dissemination of the serious allegations about the Biden family was a grave disservice to all American citizens&#8217; informed participation in our democracy.”
In his October 22 debate with former President Trump, Biden used the letter after Trump called Hunter Biden’s computer “the laptop from hell.”
“Look, there are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what this, he’s accusing me of is a Russian plan,” Biden snapped. “They have said that this has all the characteristics — four– five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage. Nobody believes it except him and his good friend Rudy Giuliani.”
“You mean, the laptop is now another Russia, Russia, Russia hoax?” Trump responded.
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After the debate, Steve Ricchetti, chairman of the Biden campaign, called Morell to thank him for helping coordinate the letter, The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11997959/Ex-CIA-chief-spills-got-spies-write-false-Hunter-Biden-laptop-letter-help-Biden.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported.</a>

Morell/Blinken

Deep State Connection: Ex-CIA Chief Says Blinken Spurred Bid To Discredit Hunter Biden Laptop Story

Donald Trump

Michael Morell

Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antony Blinken</a> said over the weekend that dozens of leaks of classified intelligence from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pentagon</a> had not affected U.S. cooperation with allies.
The Pentagon leaks have set off a series of foreign policy controversies that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> is attempting to tamp down, from accusations of U.S. spying on allied nations to concerns among allies about the security of intelligence shared with the U.S.
Blinken and other Biden administration diplomats have attempted to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/10/ukraine-intel-leak-00091229" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reassure</a> allies about the security of U.S. intelligence <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/12/discord-leaked-documents/">despite</a> hundreds of pages of leaked intelligence.
“We have engaged with our allies and partners since these leaks came out, and we have done so at high levels, and we have made clear our commitment to safeguarding intelligence and our commitment to our security partnerships,” said Blinken Saturday when asked about concerns he may have heard from U.S. allies over the leaks.
“What I’ve heard so far at least is an appreciation for the steps that we’re taking, and it’s not affected our cooperation. I just haven’t seen that. I haven’t heard that,” continued Blinken. “And of course, the investigation is taking its course. There’s now, as you know, a suspect in custody but importantly as well, I know, measures being taken to further safeguard information. But to date, based on the conversations I’ve had, I have not – not heard anything that would affect our cooperation with allies and partners.”
The FBI arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, on Thursday and charged him with violating the Espionage Act for posting dozens of transcriptions and photos of classified documents to a private Discord server. Many of the documents later circulated freely online after a member of the Discord group posted them publicly.
U.S. allies have reportedly expressed concern over the security of U.S. intelligence before and after it was revealed that the leaks allegedly came from Teixeira, a junior IT worker in the Air National Guard. Teixeira was <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/14/1169952771/jack-teixeira-background-pentagon-document-leak" target="_blank" rel="noopener">granted</a> top-secret security clearance to aid his unit in sharing intelligence for combat support and homeland security.
An official from a European country told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/14/us-intelligence-leak-allies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a> that the leaks have “caused some damage as it raises doubts as to how intelligence is protected and handled.” Other nations cannot afford to restrict intelligence sharing with the U.S. because of the importance of having access to U.S. intelligence, however.
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“Intel agencies will sort this out,” the official said. “I don’t believe anyone could afford really stopping the cooperation.”
Despite the lack of action, the leaks are still “devastating” to U.S. allies, according to one former U.S. intelligence official.
“It’s hard to trust us with your secrets if we can’t protect them,” former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Bill Lynn told <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/14/pentagon-intelligence-leaks-damage-trust-among-allies-former-intel-personnel-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC</a>.
“It’s devastating to our allies to see that kind of information being promulgated,” said Lynn. “It was shared too widely &#8230; but that’s 20-20 hindsight and easy to say now.”

Blinken Downplays Tension With U.S. Allies Over Pentagon Leaks: ‘Not Affected Our Cooperation’

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Senior <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden</a> administration officials are trying to quell anger among foreign allies over a spate of documents that have surfaced online allegedly showing top secret intelligence from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pentagon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pentagon</a>.
Dozens of documents have leaked online purporting to show U.S. intelligence involving the war in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> and the governments of several of the United States’ close allies. The Pentagon has refused to confirm or deny the authenticity of the leaks, though it has partnered with the Department of Justice to investigate the documents. The purported security breach has riled and concerned other countries about the safety of intelligence in U.S. hands, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/11/us/politics/document-leak-pentagon.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?527276-1/secretaries-blinken-austin-news-conference-philippines-counterparts&amp;live" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press conference</a> Tuesday that they had been in contact with officials from other countries to “reassure them.”
“We have engaged with allies and partners at high levels over the past days, including to reassure them about our own commitment to safeguarding intelligence and, of course, our commitment to our security partnerships,” Blinken said.
Austin said that investigators have not yet pinpointed when the leak may have taken place or to what extent U.S. intelligence may have been compromised.
“The documents that we are aware of are dated the 28th of February, 1st of March. I don&#8217;t know if there are other documents that are, that have been online before. These are things that we will find out as we continue to investigate,” he said. “We will continue to investigate and try to determine the full scope of the activity.”
The documents have suggested some explosive claims involving multiple governments, such as Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad, involved in instigating protests against the Israeli government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/3941464-israel-denies-spy-agency-was-involved-in-countrys-anti-government-protests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a> the allegations, calling them “mendacious.”
Another document suggested that a NATO coalition group of special forces operators were in Ukraine. The group allegedly involved troops from the U.S., France, and several other countries. France has <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/france-denies-military-presence-in-ukraine/#:~:text=The%20French%20government%20denied%20on,Lecornu%20told%20the%20French%20outlet." target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a> having any troops on the ground in Ukraine.
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South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol has been on the defensive against attacks from South Korea’s opposition party on Yoon’s relationship with the U.S. after the documents purported to show that the U.S. government had spied on South Korea. Yoon has <a href="https://time.com/6269905/us-pentagon-leaked-documents-south-korea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the relationship with the U.S. is “strong,” but believes that “the Korean public is really upset that the U.S. is not trusting South Korea.”

Biden Admin Working To ‘Reassure’ Allies After Alleged Top Secret Documents Leak Online

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