The White House has tried to downplay the severity of Wednesday’s bombshell report of an alleged criminal bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden by pointing to the establishment media’s coverage of the congressional inquiry into the scandal.
Ian Sams, a spokesperson hired to counter Congress’s oversight and investigations, did not outright deny the merits of the bombshell report but instead issued statements ripping media’s coverage of the letter by House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA).
The lawmakers announced Comer is compelling the FBI for records alleging a criminal scheme involving Joe Biden, a subpoena obtained by Breitbart News shows. The document, an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, allegedly details an arrangement involving an exchange of money for policy decisions between now-President Biden and a foreign national.
But Sams ignored the question of whether the form actually exists and preferred to center his condemnation of the bombshell report on the establishment media, many of the same news organizations that suggested Hunter Biden’s “Laptop from Hell” was likely Russian disinformation.
A recent poll found that six out of ten Americans say the establishment media are to blame for misinformation. A February poll found 50 percent of Americans say the national media intend to mislead, misinform, and persuade the public.
“How this innuendo is being covered AP: ‘The lawmakers used the word ‘alleged’ three times in the opening paragraph’ ‘offer no evidence of the veracity of the accusations or any details,’” Sams quoted the Associated Press’ coverage.
How this innuendo is being covered
AP: “The lawmakers used the word ‘alleged’ three times in the opening paragraph” “offer no evidence of the veracity of the accusations or any details”
Politico: “guaranteed to spark fierce pushback and skepticism”
CNN: “unverified allegation” https://t.co/Z907qDI090
— Ian Sams (@IanSams46) May 3, 2023
Sams then used Politico and CNN’s reporting to downplay the bombshell.
Politico was the organization that published the widely-debunked story about 51 former intelligence officials who said the laptop appeared to be “Russian disinformation.” CNN finally admitted Hunter Biden’s abandoned “laptop from hell” was authentic 532 days after the initial story broke on October 14, 2020 — notably calling it “Russian disinformation” and “made up” at the time.
“Politico: ‘guaranteed to spark fierce pushback and skepticism,’” Sams quoted, posting on Twitter. “CNN: ‘unverified allegation.’”
“For going on 5 years now, Republicans in Congress have been lobbing unfounded politically-motivated attacks against @POTUS without offering evidence for their claims,” Sams added. “Or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests. They prefer trafficking in innuendo.”
For going on 5 years now, Republicans in Congress have been lobbing unfounded politically-motivated attacks against @POTUS without offering evidence for their claims. Or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests.
They prefer trafficking in innuendo. https://t.co/ZjV46xvjit
— Ian Sams (@IanSams46) May 3, 2023
Sams’ attempt to condemn the report comes as Comer and Grassley have been investigating to ascertain more information about the scandals surrounding the Bidens.
“I believe the FBI possesses an unclassified internal document that includes very serious & detailed allegations implicating the current President of the United States,” Grassley posted on Twitter. “What we don’t know is what, if anything, the FBI has done to verify these claims or investigate further.”
I believe the FBI possesses an unclassified internal document that includes very serious & detailed allegations implicating the current President of the United States. What we don’t know is what, if anything, the FBI has done to verify these claims or investigate further
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) May 3, 2023
“Will the FBI give me the unclassified document, or will the White House classify it?” Grassley told Punchbowl News.
“Chairman Comer and the Oversight Committee are focused on obtaining the FD 1023 document from the FBI to determine the truth and accuracy of the information contained within it,” an Oversight spokesperson said. “We aren’t going to speculate on the outcome of the investigation and have not spoken to anyone about impeachment.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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