New documents procured by America First Legal suggest that the U.S.’s foremost cybersecurity defense agency quickly questioned the credibility of the Hunter Biden laptop story, as the New York Post reported.
A non-profit organization named America First Legal, with former senior members from the Trump administration at its helm, declared on social media that two weeks before the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the Department of Homeland Security linked the Hunter Biden laptop story to conspiracy theories such as “QAnon” and the 2016 “Pizzagate.”
Within these documents that were heavily redacted, a CISA analyst from the Countering Foreign Influence Task Force shared an Axios article with their peers. This article connected the conspiracy theories to the recent Hunter Biden computer hard drive news, highlighting a spike in activity from QAnon believers following the release of the New York Post article.
Despite the FBI verifying the authenticity of Biden’s laptop in November 2019, America First Legal believes that CISA might not have been adequately informed. They allege that CISA was involved, in part, in a conspiracy to suppress the laptop story in October 2020.
CIA’s Executive Director, Brandon Wales, responded by asserting that their agency has never engaged in or promoted censorship. He emphasized their mission to safeguard U.S. infrastructure while upholding civil liberties.
Additionally, a recent ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals suggests that CISA may have breached the First Amendment, as they are alleged to have influenced tech companies to regulate certain election-related content. The court identified CISA as a critical intermediary between the FBI and social media platforms.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey emphasized CISA’s role in online speech regulation, referring to them as the central entity collaborating with the FBI regarding the Hunter Biden laptop narrative.
However, America First Legal argues that these revelations are part of a larger pattern of certain agencies trying to suppress undesired narratives. The organization has also complained to the Federal Election Commission, accusing the Democratic National Committee and various Biden campaign groups of trying to downplay the Hunter Biden laptop story. They assert that these entities did not disclose their involvement in coordinating a letter by 51 former intelligence officers, hinting at the possibility of the Hunter Biden story being Russian disinformation.
Reed D. Rubinstein from America First Legal stated that some intelligence officers had manipulated narratives in the past two presidential elections. He emphasizes the importance of the Federal Election Commission’s role in ensuring electoral transparency and integrity.
