Democratic President Joe Biden’s 2020 election campaign, along with several administration officials and allies, is facing allegations of violating federal law through a “coordinated disinformation” effort. These claims are detailed in a complaint submitted to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The alleged campaign finance violation extends to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and 51 former senior intelligence officials who, in 2020, asserted without evidence that reports on Hunter Biden’s laptop were part of a “Russian disinformation” campaign.
America First Legal (AFL), a conservative organization led by former White House aide Stephen Miller, filed the complaint in late October. It alleges a “coordinated communication” campaign and an unreported in-kind contribution to the Joe Biden presidential campaign, violating federal law.
“[The] evidence suggests that the respondents failed to disclose coordinated expenditures constituting in-kind donations with respect to the infamous ‘Letter of 51’ former intelligence officials claiming that the Hunter Biden laptop story had ‘all the classic earmarks’ of Russian disinformation,” says the 13-page AFL complaint.
and referenced by Democrats in the lead-up to the November 8 presidential election between Biden and Trump. Signatories of the letter included Obama administration officials such as former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Michael Hayden, a vocal Trump critic and former George W. Bush DNI, also signed the letter. The complaint highlights that Panetta and Clapper made donations to the Biden Victory Fund and the Biden for President campaign in 2020. In March, former CIA Deputy and Acting Director Michael Morrell testified to the House Judiciary Committee and House Intelligence Committees about a discussion with then-Biden campaign adviser Blinken regarding the Hunter Biden laptop story reported by the New York Post on Oct. 17, 2020. The complaint references an April statement from the House Judiciary Committee summarizing Morrell’s testimony.
“Morell testified that his communication with Blinken was one of a few communications he had with the Biden campaign, explaining that he also received a call from Steve Ricchetti, Chairman of the Biden campaign, following the October 22 debate to thank him for writing the statement.
“Morell also explained that the Biden campaign helped to strategize about the public release of the statement.
“Morell further explained that one of his two goals in releasing the statement was to help then-[former] Vice President Biden in the debate and to assist him in winning the election.”
The letter from intelligence officials offered justification and legitimacy for social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to suppress the factual Hunter Biden laptop story. Initially reported by the New York Post, the story, while accurate, posed a challenge to the Biden campaign. Subsequently, both the New York Times and Washington Post confirmed the legitimacy of the Hunter Biden laptop. In the initial presidential debate between Trump and Biden, the former vice president incorrectly labeled the laptop story as “Russian disinformation.”
“There are reasons to believe that the public statement by 51 former intelligence officials was a coordinated political operation to help elect Vice President Biden in the 2020 presidential election, as set forth below,” the complaint to the FEC says.
Reed D. Rubinstein, serving as the senior counselor and director of oversight and investigations for America First Legal, asserted that this aligns with a consistent pattern of election interference. In a formal statement, Rubinstein commented:
“In 2016, high-ranking federal intelligence officials interfered in a presidential election, lying about Russia collusion in a failed effort to elect Hilary Clinton.
“In 2020, many of these same officials again interfered in a presidential election, lying about Hunter Biden.
“The Federal Election Commission’s charge includes election integrity — Americans have the right to know who is coordinating with federal candidates.
“But this right is only as effective as the agency that enforces it,” Rubenstein continued.
“The FEC must act here.”
The complaint contends that the “51 former intelligence officials” statement was a deliberate and well-planned endeavor to sway the outcome of the 2020 election. America First Legal (AFL) maintains that key figures associated with the Biden campaign actively played a role in formulating and spreading the statement. According to the complaint, the public release of the statement by the 51 former intelligence officials was strategically designed to undermine the credibility of the Hunter Biden laptop story, ultimately serving the campaign interests of Joe Biden. The complaint further outlines communication exchanges between then-Biden campaign advisor Blinken and Morell concerning the Hunter Biden laptop story. Blinken has refuted any involvement on his part.
“There is reason to believe that the respondents failed to report the above contribution and to identify the individuals who made it,” the complaint says.
The complaint additionally asserts that the disinformation effort falls under the category of a “coordinated communication” as per FEC regulations, necessitating adherence to reporting obligations. According to the AFL complaint, the Biden campaign was directly involved in formulating and spreading the statement, leveraging the national security expertise of former intelligence officials to diminish the significance of the Hunter Biden laptop disclosures. The complaint also cites a survey conducted by the Technometric Institute of Policy and Politics in August 2022, revealing that nearly four out of five Americans who followed the Hunter Biden laptop controversy believed that unbiased news coverage could have influenced the election’s outcome.
