Almost four years after the Hunter Biden laptop story was censored by social media platforms and dismissed by ex-intelligence officials, the Justice Department is now planning to use “self-authenticating” data from the laptop at Hunter Biden’s upcoming federal gun trial. Special counsel David Weiss’s team of prosecutors has requested a judge to allow the introduction of evidence from the laptop and to prevent Biden from casting doubt on its authenticity, which federal investigators verified in late 2019 according to the Justice Department and IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley.
National Review reports that in a court filing on Wednesday, senior assistant special counsel Derek Hines stated, “The defendant has not offered any conspiracy theory, much less any evidence, regarding how or why Apple, Inc. produced manipulated data for his iPhone and iPad. Second, the data from the laptop that the government is utilizing is not only self-authenticating, but it will be introduced with corroborating evidence at trial.” Hines emphasized that messages from Biden’s iCloud servers, which back up his iPad and iPhone, would be used as evidence, covering the period from April 2018 to January 2019.
The government intends to present files extracted by an FBI technician from Biden’s laptop after an examination in 2019. This evidence will be supported by witness testimony, Biden’s memoir, and other third-party corroborations to establish the laptop’s authenticity. Hunter Biden’s legal team has claimed that the laptop data was manipulated by Delaware computer repairman John Mac Isaac, but they have not provided any technical evidence to support this claim.
Hines argued, “Any argument that suggests his laptop is not authentic would be inappropriate because there is no foundation for such questioning, and it risks creating juror confusion about the evidence actually at issue in this case.” The government has requested the court to prohibit the defense from suggesting that the electronic evidence is fabricated, manipulated, altered, or inauthentic without any supporting evidence.
The controversy around Hunter Biden’s laptop dates back to October 2020, when the New York Post reported on emails related to his foreign business dealings. Social media platforms censored the story, and 51 former intelligence officials claimed it bore the hallmarks of Russian disinformation without presenting evidence. Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate, cited these officials during a presidential debate to counter Donald Trump’s criticisms of his son.
Former senior CIA official Michael Morell, one of the signatories of the letter dismissing the laptop story, testified last year that Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign orchestrated the discredited letter. The laptop archive contains a vast collection of Biden’s personal and professional emails and images, revealing his foreign business ventures and struggles with drug addiction.
Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings are central to the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Recently released whistleblower documents suggest Hunter Biden made false statements during his testimony for the impeachment inquiry earlier this year.
The Justice Department is prosecuting Hunter Biden in Delaware on three federal gun charges related to a firearm purchase in October 2018, during which he allegedly lied about his drug addiction on gun forms. He faces charges for lying about his drug use and for possessing a firearm while addicted to drugs. If convicted, Biden could face a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Hunter Biden’s gun trial is set to begin on June 3, while his criminal trial on separate federal tax charges is scheduled to start in September.