House Republicans threaten CIA with subpoena over Hunter Biden laptop investigation

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) penned a note to CIA Director William Burns on Wednesday, indicating that they may resort to 'compulsory process' if the CIA fails to fully respond to a previous document request.

House Republicans threaten CIA with subpoena over Hunter Biden laptop investigation
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
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The investigation into a letter aiming to undermine the credibility of the Hunter Biden laptop saga by House Republicans has reached a new peak, with a subpoena threat issued to the CIA. The letter, signed by 51 intelligence veterans, was used as a tool to cast suspicion on the laptop story during the 2020 presidential election run-up.

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) penned a note to CIA Director William Burns on Wednesday, indicating that they may resort to "compulsory process" if the CIA fails to fully respond to a previous document request, the Daily Wire reported.

Following last week's staff report suggesting a CIA staff member may have contributed to gathering at least one signature for the disputed letter, GOP investigators have set a deadline of May 30 for the requested records to be produced "in unredacted form."

The lawmakers critiqued the CIA for a "minimal production" of documents in response to their March request regarding the laptop letter boasting the signatures of 51 intelligence veterans in October 2020, all of whom falsely claimed that the laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

The lawmakers also noted the CIA's admittance of an incomplete search and subsequent commitment to conducting more thorough sweeps for relevant information.

The chairmen also asked for a search of all documents connected to the CIA's Pre-Publication Classification Review Board (PCRB) approval of retired CIA analyst David Cariens' memoir. The PCRB team was involved in reviewing the contentious letter prior to its publication.

Cariens previously shared with congressional investigators that an active CIA staffer involved in his memoir's review solicited his signature for the letter. This admission has sparked concerns, even among former intelligence officials like former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell, who agree that such a recruitment by an active CIA official would be inappropriate.

However, House Democrats accused GOP colleagues of releasing a "cherrypicked" report and questioned the accuracy of Cariens' recollection. They argued that Republicans made broad claims about the CIA's promotion of the letter without sufficient corroboration or refutation of the evidence they received directly from the witness.

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