Intelligence
February 16, 2023 — Scott Johnson
By reference to “MS.” I am reverting to my preferred euphemism for classified documents in the unauthorized possession of Joe Biden. In today’s installment of the saga we learn that the FBI has conducted two searches of the archives of Biden’s papers that the president has deposited at the University of Delaware under restrictive conditions. CNN reports: Investigators retrieved materials from two university locations on two different days. The material
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February 16, 2023 — Scott Johnson
The Twitter Files lie at the intersection of the law enforcement and national security establishment, the bigfoot press, social media, and the Democratic Party. Reporter Matt Taibbi has immersed himself in the Twitter Files courtesy of Elon Musk. By my rough count, Taibbi has posted 10 or so of the 15 Twitter Files threads so far. Taibbi has also compiled a summary of each of the threads here at his
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February 9, 2023 — Scott Johnson
David Niven lifted the title of his best-selling memoir The Moon’s a Balloon from the poem “who knows if the moon’s a balloon” by e.e. cummings. This is the poem: who knows if the moon’s a balloon, coming out of a keen city in the sky–filled with pretty people? ( and if you and I should get into it,if they should take me and take you into their balloon, why
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February 7, 2023 — Scott Johnson
We have struggled to following the evolving leaks and statements from the Biden administration regarding the Chinese spy balloon. In the adjacent post we note one set. This morning the Associated Press has a total of five reporters on the administration’s claim of credit for getting on top of it: “White House: Improved surveillance caught Chinese balloon.” It bears on the story of previous balloon overflights that I discuss in
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February 7, 2023 — Scott Johnson
After the Chinse spy balloon was publicly exposed over Montana last week, we followed the evolving administration leaks to friendly media outlets. The leaks inadvertently portrayed the administration in a bad light and ultimately resulted in the decision to shoot the thing down after it had traversed the continental United States. All the while Joe Biden has appeared as a senescent blowhard, i.e., in a light that appears shockingly close
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February 6, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Last week I characterized Hunter Biden’s threatened legal assault on the purveyors of his abandoned laptop as “Battle of the Bulge, Biden style.” Hunter Biden’s new legal team invited the authorities to bring privacy claims and alleged defamation claims against a variety of parties that had the temerity to bring the contents of the laptop to the attention of the public. The news was notable for a number of reasons
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February 5, 2023 — Scott Johnson
The Chinese spy balloon entered the territory of the United States a week ago yesterday. Thanks to the observant eye of Chase Doak, we learned of it as it made its way over Montana this past Thursday. The Biden administration intended to keep it a secret while it made its way across the United States and Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed off to meet the friends of the Biden
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February 1, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Yesterday CBS News reported that the FBI searched the Penn Biden Center offices in mid-November, according to “two sources familiar with the investigation,” after lawyers for President Biden had found about 10 documents marked classified there on Nov. 2. It is not clear why the White House has not disclosed the search. It is not clear when the search occurred. It is not clear whether additional classified documents were seized.
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January 30, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Miranda Devine buries revelations extracted from Hunter Biden’s laptop inside today’s New York Post column ostensibly devoted to public opinion on the Biden classified documents matter. Devine observes that “[t]here are several clues on the laptop that Hunter may have been selling classified information to his foreign paymasters” and cites the “uncharacteristically cogent email about Ukraine written by Hunter Biden in 2014…” I wrote about Devine’s discovery of the “uncharacteristically
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January 25, 2023 — Scott Johnson
As President Biden has thrown a lifeline to President Trump in the matter of possession of classified documents, former Vice President Mike Pence has thrown a lifeline to Biden. Lawyers representing Pence discovered “a small number of documents bearing classified markings that were inadvertently boxed and transported” to Pence’s new home in Carmel, Indiana. CNN reports on the discovery here, the AP here, the Wall Street Journal here. Pence attorney
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January 25, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Actually, Kevin McCarthy kicks butt would be more like it. Yesterday Speaker McCarthy “officially booted Reps. ADAM SCHIFF and ERIC SWALWELL from the House Intelligence Committee.” McCarthy set forth his decision in a letter to Hakeem Jeffries posted on Twitter. The lady and gentlemen of Politico Playbook find the letter “short on details about the two California Democrats’ sins[.]” You can grok that the press wants to pick up its
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January 24, 2023 — Scott Johnson
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took a few questions on the Biden classified documents matter at yesterday’s briefing (White House transcript here). The New York Post covers this aspect of the briefing here. KJP performed a few golden oldies. For example: “I’m going to continue to be prudent from here. I’m going to be — continued to be consistent and make sure that those questions go to my colleagues
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January 23, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Today’s New York Post takes up the Biden classified documents matter in an editorial and in Miranda Devine’s column. The editorial makes a few basic points that I have omitted to make in following the matter: The available evidence now suggests he was carting off government secrets at least since he was a spry 68. To us, that looks more like “incredibly reckless.” By the way, we also still don’t
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January 22, 2023 — Scott Johnson
I think we may be moving beyond the “no there there” stage of the Biden classified documents matter. We don’t know how many documents are involved or what they are, but their diverse locations are suggestive of gross negligence. The Daily Mail now reports “EXCLUSIVE: Biden classified files were sent to ANOTHER D.C. location before they were stored at think tank – by team led by aide who’d been recommended
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January 22, 2023 — Scott Johnson
On Friday President Biden declared that there was “no there there” in the matter of his illegal possession of classified documents. This after the discovery of three or four such sets of docs in low places including the detached garage housing his Corvette at his Wilmington residence. Last night news broke that yet another set of classified documents was found at Biden’s Wilmington home — this set including documents that
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January 20, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Unlike White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre, President Biden did not refer reporters seeking comment on his retention of classified documents in his Wilmington garage and other unauthorized locations to the White House Counsel or to the Department of Justice. He found himself innocent of any misconduct. He told reporters: “I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there.” (For “you” read Special Counsel Robert Hur.) Speaking to reporters accompanying
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January 19, 2023 — Scott Johnson
No one “familiar with the matter” delivered the goods in Andrew Kerr’s Washington Free Beacon story “Photos Place Hunter Biden in Corvette at Site of Classified Docs in July 2017.” No, Kerr’s story is based on photos and other information extracted from Hunter Biden’s laptop. The photos demonstrate the security issues raised by President Biden’s storage of classified documents at his Wilmington residence and in the garage there. The story
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