{"id":1954393,"date":"2023-06-22T16:11:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T20:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-knew-hunter-bidens-laptop-was-authentic-a-year-before-pressuring-big-tech-to-censor-it\/"},"modified":"2023-06-22T16:14:16","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T20:14:16","slug":"fbi-knew-hunter-bidens-laptop-was-authentic-a-year-before-pressuring-big-tech-to-censor-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-knew-hunter-bidens-laptop-was-authentic-a-year-before-pressuring-big-tech-to-censor-it\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI confirmed Hunter Biden&#8217;s laptop authenticity a year prior to pressuring Big Tech for censorship."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffbi-knew-hunter-bidens-laptop-was-authentic-a-year-before-pressuring-big-tech-to-censor-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1954393&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<div>\n<figure>\n    <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>The FBI Knew Hunter Biden&#8217;s Laptop Was Authentic Before Censorship<\/h2>\n<p>The FBI allegedly knew Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop was authentic nearly a year before they pressured Big Tech platforms to censor the New York Post\u2019s reporting on it ahead of the 2020 election.<\/p>\n<p>In his <a href=\"https:\/\/waysandmeans.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Whistleblower-1-Transcript_Redacted.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">remarks<\/a> before the House Ways and Means Committee, IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley testified that the FBI verified the authenticity of Hunter\u2019s laptop in November 2019, a month after the agency became aware of the laptop\u2019s existence and allegations that its contents potentially contained \u201cevidence of a crime.\u201d According to Shapley, the FBI purportedly authenticated the computer \u201cby matching the device number against Hunter Biden\u2019s Apple iCloud ID.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the FBI took possession of the device in December 2019, they notified the IRS that it likely contained evidence of tax crimes,\u201d Shapley said. \u201cThus, Special Agent [redacted] drafted an affidavit for a Title 26 search warrant, which a magistrate judge approved that month.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shapley \u2014 who became supervisor of the investigation in January 2020 \u2014 went on to claim that once he and his team began collaborating with the FBI, Delaware U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office, and Department of Justice (DOJ) Tax, \u201cit soon became clear \u2026 this case was being handled differently than any [he\u2019d] seen before.\u201d Shapley asserted that by the time Joe Biden became the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee in April 2020, DOJ officials were clearly \u201cdragg[ing] their feet\u201d on the IRS team\u2019s efforts to investigate the matter, adding that by June 2020, \u201cthose same career [DOJ] officials were already delaying overt investigative actions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was well before the typical 60- to 90-day period when DOJ would historically stand down before an election. It was apparent that DOJ was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-knew-hunter-bidens-laptop-was-authentic-a-year-before-pressuring-big-tech-to-censor-it\/\" title=\"FBI confirmed Hunter Biden's laptop authenticity a year prior to pressuring Big Tech for censorship.\">purposely slow-walking investigative actions<\/a> in this matter,\u201d Shapley said.<\/p>\n<p>The timeline of these events is critical. If Shapley\u2019s testimony is true, it means the FBI had authenticated the laptop nearly a full year before the New York Post dropped its <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/10\/14\/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bombshell story<\/a> documenting the Biden family\u2019s foreign business dealings weeks before the Nov. 3, 2020, election. Following its publication, the Post\u2019s reporting was immediately censored by Big Tech platforms.<\/p>\n<p>On <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/12\/03\/twitter-files-confirm-big-tech-leftists-suppressed-hunter-biden-laptop-story-ahead-of-2020-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Twitter<\/a>, users were not permitted to share the story, even via direct message. The platform further removed links and posted warnings that it may be \u201cunsafe.\u201d Meanwhile, Facebook <a href=\"https:\/\/thefdrlst.wpengine.com\/2020\/10\/14\/facebook-is-now-officially-censoring-the-new-york-posts-hunter-biden-bombshell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> shortly after the story broke that it would be \u201creducing [the story\u2019s] distribution\u201d pending verification by third-party \u201cfact-checkers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Shapley\u2019s testimony is even more damaging given what the country now knows about the agency\u2019s bid to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-insane-2020-time-magazine-article-explains-exactly-why-the-left-fears-losing-twitter\/\" title=\"This Insane 2020 Time Magazine Article Explains Exactly Why The Left Fears Losing Twitter\">pressure social media companies<\/a> to censor the Post story in the weeks leading up to the 2020 election. Before the Post story even broke, the FBI \u2014 as <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/26\/confirmed-fbi-colluded-with-big-tech-to-prevent-voters-from-learning-about-hunter-bidens-laptop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">admitted<\/a> by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg \u2014 warned Facebook to be on \u201chigh alert\u201d about potential info dumps indicative of \u201cRussian propaganda.\u201d In other words, Zuckerberg essentially admitted the company\u2019s decision to suppress the story was based on the FBI\u2019s warning.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/robert-pacienza-is-religious-liberty-hanging-by-a-thread\/\" title=\"Robert Pacienza: Is Religious Liberty \u201cHanging by a Thread\u201d?\">issued similar warnings<\/a> to Twitter. According to Twitter\u2019s then-head of trust and safety <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/yoel-roth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yoel Roth<\/a>, the FBI \u2014 over the course of several regularly held meetings \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/12\/13\/twitter-files-overshadow-the-bigger-scandal-fbi-lied-to-tech-giants-to-interfere-in-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/twitter-permanently-bans-james-okeefes-project-veritas\/\" title=\"Twitter Permanently Bans James O\u2019Keefe\u2019s Project Veritas\">social media platform \u201c<\/a>they expected \u2018hack-and-leak operations\u2019 by state actors [to] occur in the period shortly before the 2020 presidential election, likely in October.\u201d Roth specifically noted that during those meetings, he learned \u201cthat there were rumors that a hack-and-leak operation would involve Hunter Biden.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As revealed in the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/twitter-files\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Twitter Files<\/a>,\u201d Roth was instrumental in Twitter\u2019s censorship operations.<\/p>\n<p>Coupled with Shapley\u2019s testimony, these facts paint a damning picture; that is, that the FBI \u2014 despite knowing the veracity of Hunter\u2019s laptop in November 2019 \u2014 lied to and pressured Big Tech platforms to engage in censorship activities in the hopes that these companies would suppress reporting that would damage their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/beto-orourke-staffer-gets-physical-with-blaze-medias-sara-gonzales-police-officer-manhandles-her-at-event\/\" title=\"Beto O\u2019Rourke Staffer Gets Physical With Blaze Media\u2019s Sara Gonzales, Police Officer \u2018Manhandles\u2019 Her At Event\">preferred political candidate<\/a>. The agency was all-too-comfortable slow-walking the IRS\u2019 investigation in an apparent attempt to interfere in the election but was perfectly fine interfering in the election to benefit the \u201cBig Guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the type of behavior not reminiscent of a constitutional republic but of a failed, third-world police state.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>laptop long before urging Big Tech to censor New York Post&#8217;s election-related coverage. IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley confirmed this during his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":1954394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1954393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1954393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1954394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1954393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1954393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1954393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}