More Proof of a RIGGED 2020 Treasonous American Presidential Election
It’s been two years since 51 intelligence agents interfered with an election — they still won’t apologize and still have not been arrested and security clearances removed!
By Miranda Devine October 19, 2022 8:50pm
Exactly two years ago, on October 19, 2020, one of the dirtiest tricks in electoral history was played on the American people by 51 former intelligence officials, who used the false alarm of “Russian interference” to stop Donald Trump winning a second term as president.
Using the institutional weight of their former esteemed roles, they signed a dishonest letter to mislead voters 15 days before the election, claiming that material from Hunter Biden’s laptop published by the New York Post “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
In their expert opinion, “the Russians are involved in the Hunter Biden email issue.”
Russia was “trying to influence how Americans vote in this election … Moscow [will] pull out the stops to do anything possible to help Trump win and/or to weaken Biden should he win.
“A ‘laptop op’ fits the bill, as the publication of the emails are [sic] clearly designed to discredit Biden … It is high time that Russia stops interfering in our democracy.”
It was all a lie. Their letter was the culprit “interfering with democracy” in broad daylight.
Not one of the 51 had seen any material from the laptop or bothered asking for it, but their letter, instigated by, signed and delivered to Politico by Democratic operative and former John Brennan aide Nick Shapiro, killed the story stone dead. It got candidate Joe Biden off the hook for the corrupt influence-peddling scheme his family had been running through the eight years of his vice presidency.
The shameful letter was used by Joe Biden three days later, on October 22, to deflect Trump’s attack in their last debate.
“There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plan … Four, five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage … You know his character. You know my character. You know my reputation is for honor and telling the truth … The character of the country is on the ballot.”
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Biden dismissed as a Kremlin smear all the evidence that was on his son’s laptop of dirty money from China and Russia, of all his meetings with Hunter’s overseas business partners, and all the lies he had told about his involvement in Hunter’s business deals.
The letter, like the Steele dossier and Russia collusion hoax peddled by many of the signatories, has helped fuel a moral panic about Russia in recent years that now has heightened the risk of nuclear war.
As well as sharing their Trump derangement, the Dirty 51 sit on the same boards and think tanks, speak at the same events or liberal TV shows, write for the same publications, pal around with the same journalists, retweet each other’s “Slava Ukraini” or Mar-a-Lago memes, share hawkish views about regime change in Russia and are remarkably sanguine about the prospect of nuclear war.
You would think since so many have been outed for their involvement in the (non-existent) weapons-of-mass-destruction intelligence disaster that justified the Iraq war, not to mention secret prisons, torture, warrantless eavesdropping and the bulk collection of Americans’ data, they might have learned some humility.
But they’ve never apologized for those intelligence failures, so it’s hardly surprising they are unrepentant about lying to rig the 2020 election.
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Yes, that letter from the Dirty 51 had “all the classic earmarks” of a disinformation operation, all right — one designed to ensure Joe Biden won the presidency. And it was essentially a CIA operation, considering 43 of the 51 signatories were former CIA.
In the two years since, not one of them has admitted they are wrong.
David Priess at least gets marks for subjecting himself to a cross-examination on Fox News one recent afternoon. He tried to defend the letter by saying people were too stupid to understand it. The letter was “still true” because it did not use the words “Russian disinformation,” but concocted the weasel phrase “earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
He knows perfectly well that Biden and the media drew no distinction, that the letter he signed was used to censor and deride The Post’s accurate story and deny the American people the truth about one of the two candidates for president.
“It’s not my fault if people don’t look up definitions,” Priess said, smirking. “Those words are still true. It has all the classic earmarks.”
He has all the classic earmarks of a psychopath. Not saying he is, but just look at him. Nudge nudge, wink wink.
Five former CIA directors signed the letter — Mike Hayden, Leon Panetta, John Brennan and Michael Morell (acting), and John McLaughlin (briefly acting) — as well as a former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, eight CIA intelligence officers, seven analysts, four chiefs of staff and assorted other former Washington intelligence community grifters.
I asked the 20 most prominent signatories last week if they had any regrets: “As time has proven you wrong, do you have any apology or retraction you would like to make? Do you feel any responsibility for your letter adding to a moral panic about Russia which has heightened the danger of nuclear war?”
And I asked if they were concerned about reputational damage to the various institutions they are attached to. None have responded, other than one turning her LinkedIn profile private and another blocking me on Twitter, as retired CIA senior operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos did.
The usually loquacious Polymeropoulos boasted back in December 2020 that he “basically wrote” the letter along with former acting CIA Director Morell.
The idea for the letter came from Shapiro, according to one former CIA operative who declined to sign, when the offer came on Sunday, October 18, a day before publication.
Shapiro is a political hitman, and Obama alum, having worked as press secretary for the Obama for America campaign in Chicago in 2007 and then moving to the Obama White House before he became Brennan’s man. He now runs 10th Avenue Consulting, scooping up $20,000-a-month gigs for such Dem luminaries as Gavin Newsom.
Shapiro boasts on his website that he is “an expert in dealing with the press under challenging circumstances” but didn’t bother replying to my messages.
Many of the signatories have been rewarded for their perfidy and share cozy gigs in DC think tanks or lucrative consultancy firms.
Jeremy Bash, Panetta‘s former chief of staff-turned-MSNBC security analyst, was appointed by Biden on August 29 to a prestigious gig on his President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.
David Buckley, former inspector general of the CIA, became staff director for the Democrats’ January 6 committee star chamber.
Eight signatories have plum roles with the nonprofit International Spy Museum in DC: Bash, Hayden, Clapper, Morell, and CIA alums John McLaughlin, Doug Wise, Kristin Wood and Jonna Hiestand Mendez, none of whom have replied to questions.
Seven are connected to George Mason University, through the Schar School of Policy and Government and the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security, named in honor of Hayden, despite the fact he lied to Congress.
The Hayden Center “is the worst,” says a former senior Trump administration intelligence official.
“It is filled with people who started, supported, promoted and deliberately lied to the American people about every anti-Trump hoax from Russian collusion, the Mueller debacle, fake Russian bounties, staged impeachment whistleblowing and of course your laptop from hell.
“It’s a hybrid — a wing of both the Democratic Party and the Permanent Bureaucracy, joined by their fear of Trump and any other Republican who wants to break up their club.”
The signatories attached to the Hayden Center are CIA alums Hayden, Bash, David Priess, Michael Morell, Larry Pfeiffer, Ron Marks and Rick Ledgett, former deputy director of the National Security Agency.
They also write for the Cipher Brief, a national security publication founded by CNN intelligence correspondent Suzanne Kelly that has a strategic partnership with the Hayden Center and ultra-hawkish view on Russia. McLaughlin, Clapper, Don Hepburn (CIA and FBI) and Emile Nakhieh (CIA) also write for it.
The Hayden Center co-hosts events with the Lawfare Institute, which publishes the Lawfare blog in cooperation with the Brookings Institution and boasts Alexander Vindman of Ukraine impeachment fame as a fellow. Priess is the chief operating officer of the Lawfare Institute and publisher of the blog, which often hosts the bon mots of other signatories.
Six are connected to Beacon Global Strategies, a DC-based strategic advisory firm: Panetta, Bash, Morell, Ledgett, Glenn Gerstell and Mike Vickers.
Six are with Spycraft Entertainment, which was co-founded by signatories John Sipher and Jerry O’Shea: Wise, Wood, Paul Kolbe and Polymeropoulos.
Three signatories are associated with the University of Texas, Austin, at the Strauss and Clements centers: Brennan, Nick Rasmussen and Stephen Slick.
Three are with The Center for Strategic and International Studies: Panetta, Gerstell and Greg Treverton, former National Intelligence Council chair.
Two are with the SpyEx consultancy, Sipher and Polymeropoulos, who claims he suffers from the mysterious and potentially imaginary “Havana syndrome,” which forced him to retire from the CIA.
According to one person who refused to sign the letter and knows other refuseniks, it is instructive to look at “who didn’t sign it.” Names of the top Russia experts in the country were conspicuously absent.
The man responsible for the creation of the letter is Anthony Blinken, who now is Secretary of State of the USA.
Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American government official and diplomat serving since January 26, 2021 as the 71st United States secretary of state.
He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama.[1]
During the Clinton administration, Blinken served in the State Department and in senior positions on the National Security Council from 1994 to 2001. He was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2001 to 2002. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008.[2] He was a foreign policy advisor for Joe Biden‘s 2008 presidential campaign, before advising the Obama–Biden presidential transition.
From 2009 to 2013, Blinken served as deputy assistant to the president and national security advisor to the vice president. During his tenure in the Obama administration, he helped craft U.S. policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran.[3][4] After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a consulting firm. Blinken returned to government first as a foreign policy advisor for Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, then as Biden’s pick for secretary of state, a position the Senate confirmed him for on January 26, 2021.
According to the New York Post article, https://nypost.com/2022/03/18/intelligence-experts-refuse-to-apologize-for-smearing-hunter-biden-story/
Do the officials who tried to flip the 2020 election feel any regret for their actions? The Post reached out to those who signed the letter. Most would not answer the question. A few doubled-down, including Clapper. No remorse. No shame. And no apologies:
Mike Hayden, former CIA director, now analyst for CNN: Didn’t respond.
Jim Clapper, former director of national intelligence, now CNN pundit: “Yes, I stand by the statement made AT THE TIME, and would call attention to its 5th paragraph. I think sounding such a cautionary note AT THE TIME was appropriate.”
Leon Panetta, former CIA director and defense secretary, now runs a public policy institute at California State University: Declined comment.
John Brennan, former CIA director, now analyst for NBC and MSNBC: Didn’t respond.
Thomas Fingar, former National Intelligence Council chair, now teaches at Stanford University: Didn’t respond.
Rick Ledgett, former National Security Agency deputy director, now a director at M&T Bank: Didn’t respond.
John McLaughlin, former CIA acting director, now teaches at Johns Hopkins University: Didn’t respond.
Former CIA director John Brennan has not commented on The Post’s Hunter Biden story.
Michael Morell, former CIA acting director, now at George Mason University: Didn’t respond.
Mike Vickers, former defense undersecretary for intelligence, now on board of BAE Systems: Didn’t respond.
Doug Wise, former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy director, teaches at University of New Mexico: Didn’t respond.
Nick Rasmussen, former National Counterterrorism Center director, now executive director, Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism: Didn’t respond.
Russ Travers, former National Counterterrorism Center acting director: “The letter explicitly stated that we didn’t know if the emails were genuine, but that we were concerned about Russian disinformation efforts. I spent 25 years as a Soviet/Russian analyst. Given the context of what the Russians were doing at the time (and continue to do — Ukraine being just the latest example), I considered the cautionary warning to be prudent.”
Andy Liepman, former National Counterterrorism Center deputy director: “As far as I know I do [stand by the statement] but I’m kind of busy right now.”
John Moseman, former CIA chief of staff: Didn’t respond.
Larry Pfeiffer, former CIA chief of staff, now senior advisor to The Chertoff Group:
Didn’t respond.
Jeremy Bash, former CIA chief of staff, now analyst for NBC and MSNBC: Didn’t respond.
Rodney Snyder, former CIA chief of staff: Didn’t respond.
Glenn Gerstell, former National Security Agency general counsel: Didn’t respond.
David Priess, former CIA analyst and manager: “Thank you for reaching out. I have no further comment at this time.”
Pam Purcilly, former CIA deputy director of analysis: Didn’t respond.
Marc Polymeropoulos, former CIA senior operations officer: Didn’t respond.
Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta declined to discuss the revelations of The Post’s Hunter Biden story.
Chris Savos, former CIA senior operations officer: Didn’t respond.
John Tullius, former CIA senior intelligence officer: Didn’t respond.
David A. Vanell, former CIA senior operations officer: Didn’t respond.
Kristin Wood, former CIA senior intelligence officer, now non-resident fellow, Harvard: Didn’t respond.
David Buckley, former CIA inspector general: Didn’t respond.
Nada Bakos, former CIA analyst and targeting officer, now senior fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute: Didn’t respond.
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Patty Brandmaier, former CIA senior intelligence officer: Didn’t respond.
James B. Bruce, former CIA senior intelligence office: Didn’t respond.
David Cariens, former CIA intelligence analyst: Didn’t respond.
Janice Cariens, former CIA operational support officer: Didn’t respond.
Paul Kolbe, former CIA senior operations officer: Didn’t respond.
Peter Corsell, former CIA analyst: Didn’t respond.
Brett Davis, former CIA senior intelligence officer: Didn’t respond.
Roger Zane George, former national intelligence officer: Didn’t respond.
Steven L. Hall, former CIA senior intelligence officer: Didn’t respond.
Kent Harrington, former national intelligence officer: Didn’t respond.
Don Hepburn, former national security executive, now president of Boanerges Solutions LLC: “My position has not changed any. I believe the Russians made a huge effort to alter the course of the election . . . The Russians are masters of blending truth and fiction and making something feel incredibly real when it’s not. Nothing I have seen really changes my opinion. I can’t tell you what part is real and what part is fake, but the thesis still stands for me, that it was a media influence hit job.”
Timothy D. Kilbourn, former dean of CIA’s Kent School of Intelligence Analysis: Didn’t respond.
Ron Marks, former CIA officer: Didn’t respond.
Jonna Hiestand Mendez, former CIA technical operations officer, now on board of the International Spy Museum: “I don’t have any comment. I would need a little more information.”
Emile Nakhleh, former director of CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program, now at University of New Mexico: “I have not seen any information since then that would alter the decision behind signing the letter. That’s all I can go into. The whole issue was highly politicized and I don’t want to deal with that. I still stand by that letter.”
Gerald A. O’Shea, former CIA senior operations officer: Didn’t respond.
Nick Shapiro, former CIA deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to the director: Didn’t respond.
John Sipher, former CIA senior operations officer: Declined to comment.
Stephen Slick, former National Security Council senior director for intelligence programs:
Didn’t respond.
Cynthia Strand, former CIA deputy assistant director for global issues: Didn’t respond.
Greg Tarbell, former CIA deputy executive director: Didn’t respond.
David Terry, former National Intelligence Collection Board chairman: Couldn’t be reached.
Greg Treverton, former National Intelligence Council chair, now senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies: “I’ll pass. I haven’t followed the case recently.”
Winston Wiley, former CIA director of analysis: Couldn’t be reached.
TNP opinion is that all these 51 people helped overthrow a US Constitutional Presidential Election by manufacturing a LIE and assisting a criminal and his family to illegally steal the highest seat in our Government. They should all be convicted for TREASON, Title 18 U.S. Code § 2381
