This bipartisan framing is central to the National Security Leaders for America’s messaging, positioning the group as non-partisan, though critics may argue otherwise.
The 2020 Laptop Controversy
The controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop first erupted in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
The laptop story went public Hunter Biden left it at a Delaware repair shop. And the FBI had possession of it since 2019.
The New York Post published a report about the laptop’s contents, that received significant media attention.
Then 51 former intelligence officials, including some who would later sign the Harris endorsement letter, issued a statement discounting the laptop story. They suggested it had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation,” casting doubt on the authenticity of the information.
The Posts stories were immediately banned from social media and all links were taken down.
Among those who signed both the 2020 letter claiming the laptop was fake and the recent endorsement of Harris are several notable figures: former Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper, former CIA Directors Michael V. Hayden, Leon E. Panetta, and John Brennan, and other high-profile national security leaders.
