Fact Checking Claims About the FBI, a Chinese Spy, and Hunter Biden’s Laptop
A viral social media post is a mix of true and false claims.
A viral post from a Facebook page named President Trump Fans claims that the FBI has proof of Democratic mayors and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) having affairs with a Chinese spy, and that the bureau also possessed Hunter Biden’s laptop. The post also claims that the FBI knowingly leaked a fake dossier on former President Donald Trump.
Parts of the post are true: U.S. intelligence agencies found proof that a Chinese operative named Fang Fang, or Christine Fang, had “romantic or sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors.” Among this proof is at least one surveillance video of a rendezvous with Fang and one of the mayors. However, the mayors were not identified in reporting on the subject, and, as such, neither was their political party affiliation.
Fang was an early supporter of Swalwell, and fundraised for his 2014 campaign. A current intelligence officer told Axios that when Swalwell was notified of concerns about Fang by U.S. intelligence in 2015, he cut ties with her. Swalwell has not been accused of any wrongdoing and Axios, which broke the story, did not suggest that Swalwell had a romantic or sexual relationship with Fang. Swalwell refused to comment on Fang for Axios or subsequent news outlets, saying that information might be classified, including outlets that reached out to ask about a possible sexual relationship between Swalwell and Fang. Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed that such a relationship existed, which a Fox representative said was based on “original reporting.”
The post is correct that the FBI possesses the laptop that Hunter Biden left behind in a computer repair shop. After realizing the laptop contained emails and other documents belonging to Biden, the computer shop owner notified the FBI, which seized the laptop. The FBI’s possession of the laptop was reported by the NY Post in the article which originally reported on some of the laptop’s contents. The contents of the laptop are being used in an investigation into Biden’s tax affairs, lobbying, and business deals that has been ongoing since 2018.
The fake dossier in question is likely the Steele Dossier, a compilation of largely rumors and misinformation about Trump put together under the funding of an opposition research group hired by a law firm tied to Hillary Clinton. The dossier was not, however, leaked to the New York Times by the FBI: It was first published by Buzzfeed after it was obtained from David Kramer, a former State Department official who was working for the McCain Institute.
If you have a claim you would like to see us fact check, please send us an email at factcheck@thedispatch.com. If you would like to suggest a correction to this piece or any other Dispatch article, please email corrections@thedispatch.com.
So, is it true that the laptop is Hunter Biden's? Is that confirmed? Is it confirmed that the contents are authentic? I did a lot of digging into the laptop thing when it first came out. Feel free to correct me -- both my sources and my memory are probably suspect.
The story I heard is that Hunter Biden allegedly stumbled drunk into a random Delaware computer repair shop, dropped off a laptop, and, despite its compromising contents and his alleged corrupt deep state power, he never came back to get it. The repair shop owner, who is legally blind, got it broken into by a MAGA hacker type, turned it into the authorities, then sent a copy of its contents to Rudy Guiliani for good measure. Already this is a ... well, let's just say that if it is true that that just organically happened, it's going into a "Weirdest and Stupidest Historical Moments" book one day.
Allegedly the laptop contained videos of unspecified sexual debauch and drug use, plus a bunch of business emails. I read all the emails that were leaked to the public that I could find. Being generous, they showed that Hunter Biden did what looked like legal business in China and in Ukraine, and that he used his old man's name for leverage. We knew all of that already. The most it could pin on Joe Biden is that at one time he seems to have attended a dinner where he met one of Hunter's business associates.
OK, now for split screen:
The authorities sat on the laptop out of [justifiable suspicion of its provenance, lack of actionable evidence of criminality, and clearly stolen status]/(nefarious deep state pedophile-protecting shenanigans.)
Rudy held onto it for, what, a year+ (to try to release it at the most damaging time right before the election)/(to give the authorities time to do the right thing, but probably the first thing.)
When he did release it, the news was greeted with (justifiable suspicion)/(unjustifiable media bias and censorship.)
When the laptop did not get the expected traction, with the election imminent, Tucker Carlson announced that he was going to receive indisputable documents showing the depth of the Hunter/Joe Biden corruption, but that those documents had been lost by UPS. The package arrived, but was empty. Clearly the damning proof, whose contents were never revealed, and of which the source never thought to, you know, even take some quick photos, were (the produce of a deranged and desperate imagination)/(stolen by the deep state).
What am I missing? You're telling me that bracket number 2 stuff, that is all legit? I get that it's just as bad to automatically doubt something as it is to automatically believe something. But, ah .... I need more details.
I think I gave $10 to a gofundme so they wouldn't release the video...Some things cannot be unseen. I think it'll be on one of the cable channels for the 3rd inner level.