Next year, Republicans will prioritize investigating the weeks leading up to the 2020 election, according to a preview by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).
One major development in their crosshairs, Jordan teased, is that dozens of former intelligence officials signed a letter, published in October 2020, baselessly claiming Russian involvement in the Hunter Biden laptop stories that popped up in the final weeks of the presidential election cycle.
“I think one of the key elements there is what happened in 2020, in the fall of 2020, just weeks before the election,” Jordan told SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily in an interview that aired last week.
“We had 51 former intelligence officials tell us that this was Russian disinformation. We had the FBI sit down with Facebook and say, ‘Hey, be careful, wink wink. We think there’s Russian disinformation.’ … All that was done to suppress that story, which had an impact on how people voted in the most important election we have, the election for president of the United States,” he added.
FBI OFFICIAL WHO SHUT DOWN KEY HUNTER BIDEN DETAILS CALLED TO TESTIFY BY TOP REPUBLICANS
Jordan’s comments come after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed regret over Facebook throttling stories about the Hunter Biden laptop, which contained details about the business dealings and personal life of President Joe Biden’s adult son, in the days leading up to the 2020 election. Zuckerberg told podcast host Joe Rogan in August that looming over Facebook’s decision to limit the story’s spread was a warning the FBI gave the company about dumps of Russian propaganda on the eve of the election.
Republicans have already sent out letters seeking information and documents from the 51 former intelligence officials who signed the letter, which then-candidate Joe Biden cited during a debate. “There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plan,” he said. “They have said this is, has all the — four, five former heads of the CIA. Both parties say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage.”
Jordan is the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee and could become its next chairman should Republicans win control of the lower chamber in the midterm elections. He is also a member of the Oversight Committee.
In recent weeks, Jordan has spoken of a growing number of FBI whistleblowers coming forward to Republican investigators in Congress alleging politicization within the bureau.
Jordan recently sent a letter to Timothy Thibault, the former FBI assistant special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office, demanding testimony following whistleblower allegations that he shut down key details about the investigation into Hunter Biden. Republicans are also calling on Attorney General Merrick Garland to grant special counsel protections and authorities to the U.S. attorney running the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden.
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Hunter Biden revealed he was under federal investigation for his taxes shortly after the 2020 election and is reportedly being scrutinized for possible money laundering and foreign lobbying violations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. U.S. Attorney David Weiss, the federal prosecutor for Delaware since being appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018, is running the criminal investigation. Hunter Biden said in April last year that he was “cooperating completely” with the investigation and insisted he is “100% certain” he will be cleared of wrongdoing.
Federal prosecutors are weighing charges against Hunter Biden for alleged tax violations and for making a false statement in connection to the purchase of a firearm at a time when he should have been blocked from obtaining such a weapon because of a drug addiction, according to a July report from CNN, which noted the investigation had reached a “critical juncture” of whistleblowers. “I’ve never seen anything like this. It seems like every other week, we’re hearing from someone.”
