Investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald has ripped the mainstream media over what he sees as collusion with federal officials to shield presidential son Hunter Biden from scrutiny during the closing few weeks of the 2020 presidential election cycle.
In a Twitter thread following the publication of a story by The New York Times on Friday appearing to confirm October 2020 reporting by the New York Post based on information gleaned from a laptop Hunter Biden abandoned at a Delaware computer repair shop the previous year, Greenwald laid out his case against the media with examples of how outlets bought into claims by dozens of U.S. intelligence community officials at the time that the materials looked like part of a “Russian disinformation” campaign.
Greenwald, who co-founded The Intercept, stepped down from the outlet after he was ordered by editors to sanitize his own reporting on then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and their past business dealings with both China and Ukraine. In his Twitter thread, he argued that several media outlets took part in what he called a coordinated effort to protect the Bidens.
The thread came after the Times, in addition to confirming that Hunter Biden remains under a federal investigation, also noted, perhaps backhandedly, that the emails found on the laptop were, in fact, authentic:
People familiar with the investigation said prosecutors had examined emails between Mr. Biden, Mr. Archer and others about Burisma and other foreign business activity. Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation.
The Daily Wire noted:
The New York Post’s Miranda Devine, author of “The Laptop From Hell,” noted that none of the senior ex-intelligence officials — who swore that reports about Hunter Biden were nothing more than “Russian disinformation” — were willing to walk back their statements.
“Spies who lie: The @nypost contacted the senior ex-intelligence officials who signed the shameful 2020 letter declaring Hunter Biden’s laptop and its emails we ran were Russian disinformation. Not one apologized. Most refused to comment. A few like James Clapper doubled down,” she tweeted.
Spies who lie: The @nypost contacted the senior ex-intelligence officials who signed the shameful 2020 letter declaring Hunter Biden’s laptop and its emails we ran were Russian disinformation. Not one apologized. Most refused to comment. A few like James Clapper doubled down pic.twitter.com/EVYBXun02K
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) March 19, 2022
Greenwald responded to Devine’s tweet, and the Post’s editorial board op-ed singling out the ex-intelligence officials.
“It’s unfortunate that the @NYPost is one of the few large US outlets willing to hold accountable the cretins in the US security state for the lies they told about the Biden emails being ‘Russian disinformation’ – designed to manipulate the 2020 election – but that’s our reality,” Greenwald wrote.
These "former intelligence officials" – trained career disinformation agents, who were supposed to manipulate other countries' politics, not the US's – have the same contempt for the public as the media outlets they command: refuse to admit their lies:https://t.co/7wWnfTNuGj
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 19, 2022
“These ‘former intelligence officials’ – trained career disinformation agents, who were supposed to manipulate other countries’ politics, not the US’s – have the same contempt for the public as the media outlets they command: refuse to admit their lies,” he added.
Greenwald then posted a link to a podcast that he said provided more details about the situation while also blasting his former outlet for its role in helping to spread the ‘Russian disinfo’ narrative.
Here’s a great breakdown from @vanguard_pod — one of the best and most honest left-wing shows on the internet — about the role played by @theintercept‘s editors in spreading the CIA’s “Russian disinformation” line, and how @TheYoungTurks supported them:https://t.co/TzsEZQ6qtn
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 19, 2022
Besides the former U.S. intelligence officials who refused to acknowledge they were wrong, Greenwald pointed out that media outlets were also not correcting their previous reporting on the “CIA lie.”
“And, just by the way, it’s been 48 hours since the outlet they regard as ‘The Paper of Record’ stated they authenticated the emails in the Hunter Biden archive about Joe’s activities. Not a single media outlet that spread the CIA lie has acknowledged it or retracted their lies,” he said.
And, just by the way, it’s been 48 hours since the outlet they regard as “The Paper of Record” stated they authenticated the emails in the Hunter Biden archive about Joe’s activities. Not a single media outlet that spread the CIA lie has acknowledged it or retracted their lies. pic.twitter.com/7kGgNYvn91
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 19, 2022
“At the time CIA got huge numbers of corporate outlets to spread its lie that the Biden laptop was ‘Russian disinformation,’ actual reporters at the WPost warned Biden constantly maligns incriminating reports as ‘Russian disinformation’ with no evidence,” Greenwald added.
At the time CIA got huge numbers of corporate outlets to spread its lie that the Biden laptop was “Russian disinformation,” actual reporters at the WPost warned Biden constantly maligns incriminating reports as “Russian disinformation” with no evidence:https://t.co/f6ocI5Hhgz
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 19, 2022
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
