Coincidence? Biden Team Followed Clinton Playbook In Smearing Laptop Story As ‘Russian Disinfo’

Margot ClevelandApril 27, 2023

Last week, we discovered that Secretary of State Antony Blinken played a key role in spreading the false narrative that the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation. This confirms that the Biden campaign was responsible for pushing this hoax on the American public. And if that wasn’t enough, evidence shows that our government colluded with Big Tech to prevent voters from learning the truth about Hunter Biden’s laptop, all in an effort to secure the 2020 election. This is one of the most consequential info ops in our country’s history, and it’s unraveling before our eyes.

But that’s not all. The same testimony that connected Blinken and the Biden campaign to this scheme also exposed a Clinton connection to the Russian disinformation hoax. This could provide investigators with a clue as to the origins of this info op.

To set the scene, Blinken spoke with former CIA official Michael Morell soon after the New York Post released its first article about the Biden family pay-to-play scandal based on information recovered from Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop. Morell later testified that their conversation prompted him to coordinate the public statement by 51 former intelligence officials that portrayed the laptop as Russian disinformation. Blinken, who was then an adviser to the Biden campaign, even emailed Morell a USA Today article that reported “the FBI was examining whether the Hunter Biden laptop was part of a ‘disinformation campaign.'” This email included the signature block of Andrew Bates, then a Biden campaign spokesman and the director of his “rapid response” team, suggesting Bates had sent the article to Blinken for him to forward to Morell.

The Biden campaign used the media to push the Russia-disinformation hoax, much like the Clinton campaign peddled the Russia-collusion hoax to get Trump. Some of the most prominent Russia-collusion hoaxers promoted the narrative that Hunter’s laptop was Russian disinformation. “Fusion Natasha” Bertrand even parroted spin from Biden’s campaign head, Bates, who redirected the story to focus on Rudy Giuliani, who had provided a copy of the hard drive to the New York Post. This laundering of spin through the media is reminiscent of the Clinton campaign’s tactics.The scandal surrounding Giuliani’s supposed connection to Russian intelligence has taken a familiar turn. Bates, like Clinton campaign chair Robby Mook in 2016, deflected attention from the issue at hand and pointed fingers at the opposition. Mook had done the same when asked about the DNC’s emails being leaked by WikiLeaks. He shifted the focus to Trump and the alleged involvement of Russian state actors. This conspiracy theory soon took hold and consumed the country for the next five years. The Biden campaign followed suit, relying on the media and FBI leaks to create a narrative that Hunter Biden’s laptop was a Russian info op. They used this to bolster the case for the 51 former intelligence officials to issue their public statement. Morell’s testimony revealed that the Biden campaign even helped strategize the public release of the statement. Interestingly, Morell’s connection to the Clinton campaign through Beacon Global Strategies LLC raises questions about their involvement in similar shenanigans during her primary campaign.Did Beacon Global Strategies play a role in the Russia-disinformation hoax? The recent testimony of former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell raises questions about the consulting firm’s involvement in the plot. Beacon Global was founded in 2013 by a group of Clinton allies, including Bash, Reines, and Shapiro. Morell joined the firm a few months later. Beacon Global reportedly provided consulting services to the Clinton presidential campaign and was connected to a letter attacking Bernie Sanders’ national security credentials during the 2016 Democratic primary. The fact that a founder of Beacon Global arranged the call between Morell and the Biden campaign lead, who later released a statement signed by former intelligence officials to attack the Hunter Biden laptop story, raises suspicions about the firm’s role in the Russia-disinformation hoax. As House oversight committees investigate the matter, Beacon Global should not be overlooked. Margot Cleveland, The Federalist’s senior legal correspondent, reports on this developing story.

Meet Mary Jo Cleveland: A Law School Graduate, Professor, and Writer

Mary Jo Cleveland is a highly accomplished individual who has achieved many impressive feats throughout her career. She graduated from law school with honors and was awarded the prestigious Prize for her outstanding performance. After graduation, she worked as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals for almost 25 years.

Although Cleveland is no longer a full-time university faculty member, she still teaches as an adjunct from time to time. In addition to her legal career, she is also a stay-at-home homeschooling mom to a young son with cystic fibrosis. She frequently writes about cultural issues related to parenting and special-needs children.

If you want to keep up with Cleveland’s thoughts and opinions, you can follow her on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland. Please note that the views expressed in her writing are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer or anyone else.