In a recent development on Capitol Hill, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) has reignited controversy surrounding a letter from intelligence officials dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop saga as Russian disinformation. The Ohio congressman’s persistence in highlighting this issue has drawn sharp criticism from Brian Greer, a former CIA attorney who served during the Trump administration.
Jordan’s latest move involves a report from the House Judiciary Committee alleging collusion between CIA contractors and the Biden campaign to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story. This effort has been described by legal analyst Allison Gill and former FBI agent Peter Strzok on the “Cleanup on Aisle 45” podcast as both absurd and misguided.
Greer, who worked in the CIA’s counsel office from 2010 to 2018, did not mince words in his critique.
“Jim Jordan’s report on the letter from former Intel officers is one of the dumber things I’ve ever read,” Greer said, emphasizing that the report lacks substantive evidence and seems more aimed at satisfying certain media narratives than addressing legitimate concerns.
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“It doesn’t appear to even have a good theory about what the CIA did wrong. But it assumes that randomly quoting some internal emails will give Fox News what it needs.”
Moreover, Greer clarified that Jordan’s suggestion of CIA intervention to prevent the letter’s publication is legally unfounded. “If it does not contain classified information, the CIA cannot stop its publication,” he explained, highlighting the agency’s obligation to uphold constitutional rights.
In response to Jordan’s criticism that senior officials were aware of the letter’s contents, Greer clarified that such awareness is not inappropriate unless it aimed to obstruct due process. He also addressed Jordan’s concerns regarding contractors involved in the letter’s drafting, noting that their status and obligations differ significantly from regular employees under the Hatch Act.
Jordan’s fixation on the Hunter Biden laptop issue, which has persisted for nearly four years, has been criticized for its tenuous connection to substantive issues. Critics argue that the controversy has been exploited by right-wing media to distract from more pressing matters.
As debates around the letter’s authenticity and the broader implications of the Hunter Biden saga continue, figures like Sean Hannity have amplified the narrative, despite conflicting reports on the laptop’s content and origins.
“When The Washington Post finally got access to the material in 2022, we were able to verify some of it as authentic,” wrote Washington Post columnist Philip Bump. “There was also evidence, though, that the material on the hard drive that went from Giuliani to the New York Post was moved around with some information added. Even Mac Isaac warned that material being attributed to ‘the laptop’ was not on the laptop when he undertook the file recovery process.”
