On Thursday morning, the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government began its hearing on censorship from the federal government, including how it colluded with Big Tech. Naturally, the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story from the New York Post, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, came up.
As the hearing kicked off, the Select Subcommittee's Twitter account sent out a letter that House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) had addressed to FBI Director Christopher Wray. The letter references a transcribed interview with Laura Dehmlow, the Section Chief of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF).
Of particular note is how a Twitter employee asked the FITF about the authenticity of the Hunter Biden laptop, in a meeting that took place that same day the New York Post story came out. As Dehmlow explained in the transcribed interview to the Committee, "it was relayed to me later that somebody from Twitter--I don't recall who. I'm not sure who. Somebody from Twitter essentially asked whether the laptop was real. And one of the FBI folks who was on the call did confirm that, 'yes, it was,' before another participant jumped in and said, 'no further comment.'"
While she did recall who in the FBI said the laptop was real, it is not revealed. "It's a non- [Senior Executive Service employee," Dehmow said. "I'd have to take that back."
As Jordan goes on to write in his letter, "[f]ollowing the meeting with Twitter, FBI personnel immediately deliberated internally about what information about the laptop the FBI would reveal to social media companies when asked in upcoming meetings. According to Dehmlow, during these internal deliberations the decision was made that FITF would say 'no comment' going forward."
We don't know who that official is, though, since "on the instruction of FBI counsel during the transcribed interview, Dehmlow refused to answer which FBI official made the decision that FITF would say 'no comment' going forward, except to state that it 'was not [her] decision. It wasn’t [her] final call.'"
During FITF meetings with Facebook later that same day, Dehmlow said "no comment" in response to a similar question from Facebook. "The FBI made this decision despite being in possession of the laptop and having confirmed its authenticity. According to Dehmlow, multiple personnel on FITF knew that the laptop was real," Jordan's letter noted.
#BREAKING: Testimony reveals FBI employees who warned social media companies about “hack and leak” operation knew the Hunter Biden laptop wasn’t Russian disinformation.
— Weaponization Committee (@Weaponization) July 20, 2023
But when asked by a social media company about the laptop’s authenticity, the FBI said “no further comment.” pic.twitter.com/fd6TDK1W6s
The letter asked Wray a series of questions for him to have answered by August 3, in light of Dehmlow's testimony. Those questions include asking the name of the FBI official with FITF who first responded to the question from Twitter about the authenticity of the laptop, as well as the name of the official with FITF who said "no further comment."
The Committee is also looking for more information about the FITF employees, including:
3. A list of FBI employees who participated in the deliberations following the meeting between FITF and Twitter in October 2020 about how to respond to questions about the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop.
4. A list of FBI employees affiliated with FITF who were aware, at any point prior to October 14, 2020, that the FBI was in possession of Hunter Biden’s laptop and/or that theFBI had confirmed the authenticity of the Hunter Biden laptop.
5. The name of the FBI official or officials who decided on October 14, 2020 that FITF must respond “no comment” when asked by social media companies for additional information regarding the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop.
6. All records, notes, and other documents, including but not limited to records retained by Sentinel, of meetings between or among FITF or the San Francisco Field Office and social media companies, including Meta, Twitter, Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple, Reddit, and Yahoo, from January 1, 2017, to the present.
7. All documents and communications transmitted via Signal between or among FITF or theSan Francisco Field Office and social media companies, including Meta, Twitter,Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple, Reddit, and Yahoo, from January 1, 2017, to the present.
8. All documents and communications sent or received via Teleporter link between or among FITF or the San Francisco Field Office and American social media companies, including Meta, Twitter, Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple, Reddit, and Yahoo, from January 1,2017, to the present.
Jordan also mentioned the transcribed interview during his opening statements on Thursday, when talking about how "the FBI helped censor our second witness," speaking to Emma-Jo Morris, then with the New York Post, who wrote about Hunter Biden's emails showing that he discussed using his connections with his father, then Vice President Joe Biden, to boost his pay at Burisma.
Summarizing the letter about Dehmlow's interview, Jordan declared "what an interesting interview that was."
"So think about this," Jordan offered, "after being repeatedly told a hack-and-leak Russian info operation is coming, for a whole year, it arrives on October 14, in the form of Ms. Morris' story, an accurate story. Our government knows the laptop is real, they know it's not a Russian information op, and they know the story is true, but when directly asked, they say 'no comment.'"
"And of course Ms. Morris' story is censored," Jordan reminded, which a tweet from the Select Subcommittee referred to as "arguably the most censored story ever."
"'Visibility-filtered,' the term that the tech companies use," Jordan explained. "No, you can't direct message, you can't send it. Keeping the American people from valuable information just days before the most important election we have, election for Commander-in-Chief, election for the Presidency of the United States."
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) July 20, 2023
Morris pointed out during her opening statement that "no one denies that the laptop is real, that the origin story is exactly what I told you it was in the first place. This elaborate censorship conspiracy wasn't because the information being reported on was false, it was because it was true, and it was a threat to the power centers in this country."
.@EmmaJoNYC: "No one denies that the laptop is real...The origin story is exactly what I told you it was...This elaborate censorship conspiracy wasn't because the information being reported on was false...
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 20, 2023
...It was because it was true, and it was a threat to the power centers… pic.twitter.com/zjIuw8dsg3
Wray has already heard from the Committee several times this week. On Monday, Jordan warned the director that he could be held in contempt if the FBI did not turn over previously subpoenaed documents to do with the bureau's targeting of parents raising their concerns at school board meetings, and to do with the bureau's targeting of Catholic Churches.
On Tuesday, Jordan and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) also wrote to Wray, providing him with an opportunity to correct his testimony from last week's hearing before the Committee to do with oversight of the FBI.
"During the hearing, you made several statements about the FBI’s actions relating to misinformation and disinformation that are contradicted by the findings of a federal court and information obtained by the Committee," the letter noted early on, going on to specifically mention the Missouri v. Biden case.
"This discrepancy between your testimony and the information we have obtained leads us to conclude that either you misled the Committee about the FBI’s interactions with social media companies or that you were not fully aware of the egregious and unconstitutional actions of the FBI you administer. Either scenario is alarming.Accordingly, we invite you to amend your testimony," the letter concluded.
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