Recently obtained emails have surfaced, revealing what a law group claims are efforts by the United States’ top cybersecurity defense agency to undermine a high-profile story involving Hunter Biden’s laptop. America First Legal, a non-profit organization led by former senior members of the Trump administration, asserts that the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) moved swiftly to link the story to various conspiracy theories on the very day it was published by the New York Post.
In the heavily redacted emails, a CISA analyst appears to flag an Axios report connecting the laptop story to the “QAnon” conspiracy and the “Pizzagate” theory, which involves allegations of child sex trafficking. The report cites “recent reports about what was purported to be Hunter Biden’s computer hard drive” and its effect on the “QAnon” movement, which experienced a surge in activity on the day the New York Post article was released.
These revelations have raised questions about the extent of CISA’s knowledge regarding the laptop’s authenticity, given that the FBI confirmed it as genuine back in November 2019.
Earlier in the month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals extended an injunction, asserting that CISA “likely violated the First Amendment” by allegedly exerting pressure on tech companies to censor election-related online content. The court’s ruling indicated that CISA played a key role in coordinating with the FBI to push for changes in content moderation policies, particularly concerning “hack-and-leak” material.
This latest development is part of a broader effort to address the issue of curbing the spread of disfavored ideas within various agencies. In response, America First Legal has lodged a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, calling for a comprehensive investigation into the Democratic National Committee and President Joe Biden’s campaigns. They have accused these entities of attempting to downplay the Hunter Biden laptop story. The complaint alleges that the Biden campaign failed to disclose its involvement in coordinating a letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials. This letter suggested that the laptop story may be part of a Russian disinformation campaign, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election. The letter’s release coincided with CISA’s alleged involvement in the censorship of related content.
/1🚨EXPLOSIVE DOCS — new docs obtained from our lawsuit against DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) indicate the federal gov’t immediately participated in an effort to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story the same day of the @nypost’s reporting: pic.twitter.com/L9bcuWbu5z
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) October 25, 2023
