The top Democratic staffer on the Capitol riot select committee was among dozens of former intelligence officials who signed a letter in October 2020 claiming without evidence that the Hunter Biden laptop story was part of a Russian disinformation effort.
David Buckley, who was formerly the CIA inspector general, is the staff director for the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Despite offering no proof,
President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, along with many in the media,
dismissed the laptop story as being part of a
Russian disinformation operation, including by pointing to the letter signed by Buckley.
Buckley is one of the signatories of the
letter by former intelligence officials that was published and
released by
Politico in October 2020 following the
New York Post revelations about emails on Hunter Biden’s laptop. Buckley is among the few signatories to have returned to government.
WHITE HOUSE WON'T SAY IF BIDEN STANDS BY LAPTOP DISINFO CLAIMS
The letter allegedly signed by 51 former intelligence officials, including nine anonymous ones, claimed that the laptop story "has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” The letter hedged a bit at various times, noting that “we do not have evidence of Russian involvement.” But it also said that “our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.” The letter argued that “if we are right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election” and expressed “our view that the Russians are involved in the Hunter Biden email issue.”
Then-candidate Biden called the laptop story “garbage” and part of a “Russian plan” during a debate with then-President Donald Trump. He was referring to a
Politico report about the
letter in an article titled “
Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say.” The title was misleading because the letter never directly called the laptop Russian “disinformation.”
Then Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe
said that month that there was "no intelligence" to support the claim the laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign. A federal law enforcement official
said in October 2020 that the FBI and Justice Department agreed with Ratcliffe.
Buckley, who served as CIA watchdog from late 2010 until early 2015 during the Obama presidency, also previously worked as the Democratic minority staff director for the House Intelligence Committee.
Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee,
announced in July that Buckley would be the staff director, calling him among the "professional, patriotic public servants" joining the committee staff.
Republican Rep. Jim Banks, who along with Rep. Jim Jordan had been selected by GOP Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to serve on the Capitol riot committee only to be rejected by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, critiqued Buckley’s leadership position.
“Speaker Pelosi blocked me from serving on the Committee because of ‘ridiculous’ statements I made, meanwhile, the Committee’s staff director intentionally lied to the public to keep President Trump out of the White House,” Banks told the
Washington Examiner. “David Buckley is obviously willing to lie to help Democrats win elections, which is why he was hired.”
A recent
report from the
New York Times said emails from the laptop were authentic, which multiple other outlets had previously concluded. The Justice Department is reportedly investigating Hunter Biden for foreign lobbying violations related to his
overseas business dealings, in addition to scrutinizing his taxes.
Buckley was
previously criticized last year by a number of whistleblower advocates.
A 2019
report from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general concluded that “the evidence in the record substantiates” at least some of the claims by Andrew Bakaj, a former CIA inspector general employee who accused Buckley of retaliation. Bakaj is now among lawyers who represented two Capitol Police officers who testified in front of the Jan. 6 committee.
The DHS report said that “a preponderance of the evidence establishes that complainant’s whistleblowing activity was a contributing factor in the CIA-OIG’s adverse actions," which were "retaliatory.”
Tim Mulvey, spokesman for the Democrats on the Jan. 6 committee, defended Buckley in August.
“David Buckley has served this country for more than 30 years to protect American security and democracy, and he’ll continue to do so on the Select Committee’s staff,” Mulvey
told Politico. “He understands as well as anyone the importance of whistleblowers in providing information to keep us safe and to keep our government accountable.”
Buckley, the select committee, and its Republican members, Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, did not respond to requests for comment.
