Hunter Biden Laptop Figure Played Role In ‘Russiagate Hoax’ As Well
The previous acting CIA Director, who was instrumental in orchestrating the now-notorious letter that dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop as Russian disinformation in 2020, also played a pivotal role in furthering the Hillary Clinton campaign’s initiative to associate Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin during the 2016 election.
Mike Morell, who held the position of acting CIA chief under President Obama, was crucial in promoting the narrative that Trump was an “agent” of Russia—an allegation that became a common talking point for the Clinton campaign.
In addition to organizing the 2020 letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials that cast doubt on the laptop’s authenticity, Morell also led a comparable initiative in 2016. That year, he directed a letter signed by over 50 former national security officials suggesting that Trump had questionable connections to the Kremlin, as reported by Just the News.
Recently declassified information indicates that in 2016, the FBI received intelligence suggesting that Hillary Clinton intended to divert attention from her own classified email controversy by linking Trump to Russia.
According to the intelligence—originating from Russian sources—the FBI leadership may have unintentionally supported Clinton’s strategy by initiating a wide-ranging investigation into baseless claims of Trump-Russia collusion.
Jennifer Palmieri, the communications director for the Clinton campaign, strongly suggested in a 2017 op-ed for the Washington Post that the campaign had reached out to former Morell during the summer of 2016 to encourage him to publicly address Trump’s purported connections to Russia. Clinton herself reiterated this notion in her 2017 memoir, What Happened.
Morell informed The New York Times that his choice to speak out in 2016 was made autonomously and was not swayed by external pressures. However, according to Just the News, public records reveal that Clinton—collaborating with key campaign figures such as communications director Jennifer Palmieri, general counsel Marc Elias, campaign manager Robby Mook, chairman John Podesta, and policy adviser Jake Sullivan.
Palmieri stated in her 2017 article for the Washington Post that “the week following the convention” in late July 2016, “we sought out credible national security experts to raise alarms” and expressed her surprise at the eagerness with which some, including former acting CIA director Michael Morell, engaged in the discussion.
“During my tenure in the Obama White House, individuals in national security roles were hesitant to make sweeping public statements, especially regarding political issues. However, this time was different,” Palmieri noted in 2017. “They were so alarmed by the circumstances that, in my view, the terminology they employed to articulate the threat they perceived from Russia and Trump was astonishing.”
Palmieri recalled, “I remember being taken aback as I sat in our Brooklyn campaign headquarters and read the op-ed Morell submitted to the New York Times in early August [2016]” while she referenced Morell’s article.