Former DNI James Clapper stands by Hunter Biden laptop Russian disinfo letter: 'I don't regret it'
James Clapper told CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday that he did not regret signing the letter in 2020 that claimed Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation and argued there was no evidence the Russians haven't "messed with it."
Former Director of Intelligence James Clapper doubled down on the idea that Hunter Biden's laptop could be Russian disinformation on Tuesday, claiming he hasn't seen any evidence to prove the Russians haven't "messed with it."
CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked Clapper about the 2020 letter signed by over 50 intelligence officials, including him, claiming Biden's laptop might be Russian disinformation and about whether he regrets signing the letter.
"Well, to answer your question, no, I don’t regret it. I thought, at the time, it was appropriate to sound a warning about, watch out for the dark hand of the Russians. In my case, this was on the heels of what I saw the Russians do in 2016 to interfere and influence the outcome of our election. So, I thought it was appropriate. I thought the letter was appropriately caveated by acknowledging we didn’t have any direct evidence. To this day, I still have not seen any official results of forensic analysis of that laptop, as to whether or not, in some way, the Russians messed with it.
The letter was first reported by Politico's Natasha Bertrand on Oct. 19, 2020, and was headlined: "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say."
Former DNI James Clapper tells CNN's Kaitlan Collins he doesn't regret signing the infamous 2020 letter claiming Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation.
Collins added that we haven't seen anything indicating it "was because of them."
Clapper agreed and said, "that's right."
The former intelligence official accused Politico of "deliberately" distorting the letter in February.
"There was message distortion," Clapper told The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler at the time. "All we were doing was raising a yellow flag that this could be Russian disinformation. Politico deliberately distorted what we said. It was clear in paragraph five."
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan (L-R) testify before the Senate (Select) Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill January 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
ANDY MCCARTHY: WE'RE DEALING WITH ‘VERY SOPHISTICATED ACTORS’ IN HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP INTEL LETTER
Another signer told the Washington Post that no one should be surprised by the distortion.
"No one who has spent time in Washington should be surprised that journalists and politicians willfully or unintentionally misconstrue oral or written statements," Fingar wrote in an email. "The statement we signed was carefully written to minimize the likelihood that what was said would be misconstrued, and to provide a clear written record that could be used to identify and disprove distortions."
Hunter Biden disembarks from Air Force One at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York, U.S., February 4, 2023. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
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Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax on Tuesday.
He also agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement regarding a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
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