A group of 51 former intelligence officials who previously cast doubt on the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop by labeling it as potential “Russian disinformation” and causing it to be censored across social media platforms, are now facing the possibility of having their security clearances revoked. This move is being considered by Republican lawmakers, aligning with a promise from Vice President-elect J.D. Vance to hold those who mislead the public accountable.
Vance, addressing the issue, stated, “You cannot lie, take your position of public trust, and lie to the American people for political purposes. It’s disgraceful. And people have to suffer consequences for it.”
The issue stems from a controversial period before the 2020 presidential election when the 51 signatories endorsed a narrative suggesting Russian involvement in the release of the laptop’s contents.
Initially, when the New York Post broke the story in October 2020, Twitter took the extraordinary step of blocking links to the article, preventing users from sharing it on their feeds. Twitter justified its action by referencing its policy against distributing hacked material and Russian disinformation, though it later acknowledged that its communication about the decision could have been clearer. This action led to a public outcry, including from policymakers who accused the platform of partisan bias and suppressing information.
Facebook also intervened. The platform chose to cut the story’s visibility.
Despite the FBI and intelligence community possessing the contents of the laptop left at a Delaware computer repair shop by Hunter Biden, long before the story broke, which casts clear doubt on the Russian disinformation claim, none of the signatories have withdrawn their assertions.
As Republicans retain their House majority following President-elect Donald Trump’s landslide election victory, the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (R-LA), is yet to decide whether to bring the clearance revocation measure to the floor as part of fulfilling Vance’s campaign pledge.
Several Republican legislators have openly supported the clearance revocation. Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) suggested a comprehensive review of all legacy clearances, saying to the Washington Times, “I think we should scrub all the legacy clearances to see whether the people need to have them and for what purpose, and unless they’re working for a company in a role that makes sense, they should be taken away. Most on that list [of 51], I would include in that scrubbing.”
Echoing Issa’s sentiment, Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) was straightforward in his opinion to the same paper: “They should all lose their security clearances.”
