{"id":2392975,"date":"2025-01-20T21:25:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T02:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clearances-revoked-for-officials-who-spread-biden-laptop-lies\/"},"modified":"2025-01-20T21:26:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T02:26:40","slug":"clearances-revoked-for-officials-who-spread-biden-laptop-lies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clearances-revoked-for-officials-who-spread-biden-laptop-lies\/","title":{"rendered":"Clearances Revoked For Officials Who Spread Biden Laptop Lies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/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%2Fclearances-revoked-for-officials-who-spread-biden-laptop-lies%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=2392975&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--><p>On\u200b a recent night, president Donald Trump enacted an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">executive\u200b order revoking \u200dteh security clearances<\/a> of 51\u200b former\u200d intelligence officials who allegedly\u2063 coordinated wiht the Biden campaign to label emails from Hunter Biden&#8217;s laptop as \u200dRussian disinformation in an attempt to influence the 2020 presidential election. \u200cThe order also included John Bolton, Trump&#8217;s former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/betrayed-from-within-patrick-byrne-blasts-white-house-staff-after-attending-election-meeting-with-president-trump-sydney-powell-and-gen-flynn\/\" title=\"\u201cBetrayed From Within\u201d: Patrick Byrne Blasts White House Staff After Attending Election Meeting With President Trump, Sydney Powell and Gen. Flynn\">national security advisor<\/a>. The executive action responds to what Trump called abuses of public trust that misled the public during the\u200b election.<\/p>\n<p>the article further discusses a notorious \u2063letter signed by these officials before the 2020 election, which claimed the laptop&#8217;s emails bore signs \u2064of\u2064 a Russian disinformation operation. This narrative was utilized by Biden during a debate against Trump to deflect concerns about his family&#8217;s\u200c foreign business dealings. The article reveals that investigations indicated that these officials did not act independently but were encouraged by Biden campaign members, \u2064including\u200b Antony Blinken, now Secretary of State.<\/p>\n<p>Under the new order,\u200b the Directors of National Intelligence adn \u2064the CIA have been mandated to\u2062 compile \u2064a report detailing any \u2062further\u2062 inappropriate behaviour within the intelligence community related to this incident, including recommendations \u200cfor preventing \u2062similar \u200belection interference in the future. this advancement has been met with scrutiny and raises questions about the\u200b integrity of intelligence operations during political campaigns.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Former_President_Donald_Trump_Holds_Campaign_Rally_In_Rochester,_New_Hampshire_(53481310366).jpg\">Liam Enea\/Wikimedia Commons\/<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/20\/trump-yanks-security-clearances-of-intel-officials-who-spread-disinformation-about-hunter-bidens-laptop\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Trump%20Yanks%20Security%20Clearances%20Of%20Intel%20Officials%20Who%20Spread%20Disinformation%20About%20Hunter%20Biden%E2%80%99s%20Laptop&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/20\/trump-yanks-security-clearances-of-intel-officials-who-spread-disinformation-about-hunter-bidens-laptop\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Trump%20Yanks%20Security%20Clearances%20Of%20Intel%20Officials%20Who%20Spread%20Disinformation%20About%20Hunter%20Biden%E2%80%99s%20Laptop&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/20\/trump-yanks-security-clearances-of-intel-officials-who-spread-disinformation-about-hunter-bidens-laptop\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/20\/trump-yanks-security-clearances-of-intel-officials-who-spread-disinformation-about-hunter-bidens-laptop\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Trump%20Yanks%20Security%20Clearances%20Of%20Intel%20Officials%20Who%20Spread%20Disinformation%20About%20Hunter%20Biden%E2%80%99s%20Laptop&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/20\/trump-yanks-security-clearances-of-intel-officials-who-spread-disinformation-about-hunter-bidens-laptop\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>President Donald Trump signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/holding-former-government-officials-accountablefor-election-interference-and-improper-disclosure-of-sensitive-governmental-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">executive order<\/a> on Monday night revoking the security clearances of 51 former intelligence officials who falsely claimed emails from Hunter Biden&rsquo;s laptop were Russian &ldquo;disinformation&rdquo; to help Joe Biden&rsquo;s 2020 election prospects. The directive also pulls the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-china-is-stealing-dna-of-u-s-citizens\/\" title=\"Report: China is Stealing DNA of U.S. Citizens\">security clearance<\/a> of John Bolton, who served as national security advisor in Trump&rsquo;s first term.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;To remedy these abuses of the public trust, this Order directs the revocation of any active or current security clearances held by:&nbsp;(i) the former intelligence officials who engaged in misleading and inappropriate political coordination with the 2020 Biden presidential campaign; and (ii) John R. Bolton,&rdquo; the order reads. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1879519056\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The infamous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/f\/?id=00000175-4393-d7aa-af77-579f9b330000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oct. 19, 2020, letter<\/a> included signatures from dozens of former intel officials who baselessly contended the emails from Hunter&rsquo;s laptop that were reported by the New York Post weeks before the 2020 contest bore &ldquo;all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.&rdquo; Biden then <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/21\/ex-cia-official-blinken-prompted-infamous-intel-statement-calling-hunter-biden-laptop-russian-disinfo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">weaponized<\/a> the phony statement during his Oct. 22, 2020, debate against Trump to dispel the latter&rsquo;s criticisms of the Biden family&rsquo;s foreign business dealings.<\/p>\n<p>Former CIA Directors John Brennan and Leon Panetta and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were among those to sign the letter.<\/p>\n<p>Under Monday&rsquo;s edict, the directors of National Intelligence and the CIA are ordered to submit a report within 90 days to Trump that includes &ldquo;any additional inappropriate activity that occurred within the Intelligence Community, by anyone contracted by the Intelligence Community or by anyone who held a security clearance, related to the letter signed by the 51 former intelligence officials.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This report must also detail any and all &ldquo;recommendations to prevent the Intelligence Community or anyone who works for or within it from inappropriately influencing domestic elections&rdquo; and &ldquo;any disciplinary action &mdash; including the termination of security clearances &mdash; that should be taken against anyone who engaged in inappropriate conduct related to the letter signed by the 51 former intelligence officials.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Congressional investigations into the infamous letter and its signatories in the years since the 2020 election have revealed that these intel officials did not act alone in attempting to delegitimize the New York Post&rsquo;s findings on the Biden family. <\/p>\n<p>In April 2023, House Republicans&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/21\/ex-cia-official-blinken-prompted-infamous-intel-statement-calling-hunter-biden-laptop-russian-disinfo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">released<\/a>&nbsp;testimony from Michael Morell, a former deputy director of the CIA who signed onto the letter, revealing that &ldquo;on or around October 17, 2020,&rdquo; Antony Blinken, a then-Biden campaign official who later became secretary of state, &ldquo;reached out to him to discuss the Hunter Biden laptop story,&rdquo; which the Post published on Oct. 14. <\/p>\n<p>According to Morell, Blinken&rsquo;s outreach &ldquo;set in motion the events that led to the issuance of the public statement&rdquo; that baselessly asserted the laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign. When pressed by House investigators if he had any intent to write the statement prior to Blinken&rsquo;s call, Morell said he &ldquo;did not,&rdquo; confirming the call &ldquo;absolutely&rdquo; pushed him to write it.<\/p>\n<p>Morell&nbsp;also <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/21\/ex-cia-official-blinken-prompted-infamous-intel-statement-calling-hunter-biden-laptop-russian-disinfo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">affirmed<\/a>&nbsp;in his congressional testimony that there were two motives for releasing the statement, one being for former intel officials to share their alleged &ldquo;concern[s] with the American people that the Russians were playing on this issue.&rdquo; The other was to &ldquo;help Vice President Biden.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You wanted to help the vice president, why?&rdquo; asked Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to which Morell replied, &ldquo;Because I wanted him to win the election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>An&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/America1stLegal\/status\/1762195886459810242?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">email<\/a>&nbsp;included in a February 2024 lawsuit <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/27\/lawsuit-biden-campaign-broke-the-law-by-not-reporting-collusion-with-intel-officials-to-discredit-laptop-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed<\/a> by America First Legal shows Morell soliciting signatures from intel officials prior to the letter&rsquo;s release, confirming The Federalist&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/05\/09\/cia-solicited-signatures-for-hunter-biden-laptop-letter-congressional-testimony-shows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reporting<\/a> about the CIA&rsquo;s heavy-handed role in its development.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      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<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2020-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2020 Election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/biden-family-business\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Biden family business<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/cia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">CIA<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/fbi\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">FBI<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/hunter-biden-laptop\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Hunter Biden laptop<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/intelligence-agenceis\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">intelligence agenceis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/james-clapper\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">James Clapper<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Joe Biden<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-bolton\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Bolton<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-brennan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Brennan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/security-clearance\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">security clearance<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump revoked security clearances of 51 ex-intelligence officials<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2392976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Donald-Trump-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[7380,48890,48889,48231,32793],"class_list":["post-2392975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-misinformation","tag-biden-laptop","tag-clearance-revocation","tag-government-officials","tag-political-accountability"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Donald-Trump-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392975","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=2392975"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2392979,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392975\/revisions\/2392979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2392976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2392975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2392975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2392975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}