Charles Lipson: The Ever-Shifting Excuses About Hunter Biden’s Laptop

Hunter Biden’s defense about his incriminating laptop sounds like an old joke about a trial lawyer who was accused of letting his dog bite a stranger. The lawyer’s first line of defense was that “it couldn’t happen because my dog was tied up that night.” When he was told that there were witnesses who saw him walking the dog he replied, “Okay, we were out walking but my dog doesn’t bite.” If all else fails, you can always try again “Well, yes, my dog did give you a little nip, but it wasn’t a bad one.” Then, “Granted, you had to go…

Hunter Biden’s defense about his incriminating laptop sounds like an old joke about a trial lawyer who was accused of letting his dog bite a stranger. The lawyer’s first line of defense was that “it couldn’t happen because my dog was tied up that night.” He claimed that witnesses had seen him walking his dog. “Okay, we were out walking but my dog doesn’t bite.” If all else fails, you can always try again “Well, yes, my dog did give you a little nip, but it wasn’t a bad one.” Then, “Granted, you had to go to the hospital for surgery, but you provoked my sweet pup.” If all else fails “What do you mean I own a dog?”

Hunter Biden and his family have done this to defend themselves against the damning information found on the laptop he left behind at a Delaware shop. Or, as Hunter Biden’s lawyers might put it, “allegedly abandoned in the alleged state of Delaware.” New York Post Miranda Devine, columnist, has appropriately labeled the computer “the” “laptop from hell,” Hunter isn’t eager to admit guilt or ownership. Neither is his family, who see both legal and political peril in the computer’s contents.

Just look at this long list of Hunter’s defenses, one crumbling after the other, like the lawyer with a dog.

• It’s not my computer. That was Hunter’s original defense, and he still hasn’t completely abandoned it.
• I’m not sure if it’s my computer. He used that as a backup defense.
• I don’t even know if I left any computers at that repair shop. We may never know. I’m not admitting that’s my signature on the shop’s release form. It could be forgery. More scrambling for alternative defenses.
• What about the chain of custody for that computer’s hard drive? It’s very fishy. It could be fake. Many news media defended the decision not to report it. “we’re just not sure.” Of course, that’s not a defense for refusing to investigate it. That was their job, and they didn’t do it.
• The Post Story about computer is meaningless as they got it unreliable from sources. Years later, CBS News confirmed that the computer’s contents were authentic.
• This stuff about Hunter’s computer has all the earmarks of a classic Russian disinformation campaign. These were the words of 51 former US intelligence agents. Many of them were high-ranking, and are still close to the intel community. Even today, they won’t admit they were wrong. Their weak defense is that “we didn’t actually say it was Russian disinformation, only that it had all the earmarks.” It has all the hallmarks a classic CIA disinformation effort.
• It definitely is Russian disinformation. That was Joe Biden’s public statement when the Post He broke the story. He didn’t bother to mention “earmarks.”
• Okay, it really is Hunter’s computer. That’s what his lawyers finally seemed to say only to be called out and retract it. The lawyers managed to tie themselves in knots thanks to their scorched-earth PR campaign in anticipation of Hunter’s indictment. Hunter and his team used legal threats to sue media outlets if they revealed any information on the laptop. Unfortunately for Hunter’s team, that very threat seemed to acknowledge, for the first time, that the computer really was Hunter’s. “Oops. Not so fast,” The lawyers agreed. “We admit nothing. We’re not saying the computer belonged to Hunter. We’re just saying that any information on it is his personal information and you don’t have any right to share it.” These legal maneuvers embarrassed pretzel makers.

Does the sleazy information on Hunter’s computer really matter? It is only if the information on Hunter’s computer reveals something valuable about the Biden family grifting operation, and specifically how Joe Biden contributed. Was he vice president, or perhaps a senator? What did he know about Hunter’s contacts with foreign businesses? How did Joe’s actions in office contribute to the lucrative arrangements made by Hunter and Joe’s brothers? How was the profit shared? Remember, Joe has denied all knowledge of Hunter’s business affairs and, of course, denied profiting from them.

Hunter’s computer matters in another way, too. It is a sign of how deeply partisan the media have been and how determined they were, to protect Joe Biden’s candidacy against an opponent they detest. After the revelations, the mainstream media suppressed news about the laptop. New York Post Two weeks before the election, he broke it. Social media companies contributed their efforts to end the story. They all helped Joe Biden to get out of the basement and make it to the finish.

It’s a sordid tale. And unlike the trial lawyer’s story about a dog bite, the joke seems to be on us.